


Shades of Konoha: Dragon and Phoenix

by Giada Luna (GiadaLuna)



Series: Shades of Konoha [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Fluff, Humor, Romance, Toddlers, canon and alternate universes, different plot with every story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-14 19:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 48,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3423419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiadaLuna/pseuds/Giada%20Luna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of oneshots featuring Neji and Tenten. Varied AU's, characters, and ratings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shades of Konoha: Dragon and Phoenix

_Added 01/03/18_

_This is a collection of NejiTen oneshots and the occasional miniseries. I'll update this front page as I add stories._

* * *

**Shades of Konoha**  
**Dragon and Phoenix**

* * *

 **2\. The Mission**  
* Summary: Neji and Tenten are on a retrieval mission, and Neji is NOT amused.  
* Modern day AU  
* Prompt from Aquarius Galuxy:  _NejiTen, ballpit  
_ * word count: 1.3K

 **3\. Kaiten  
** * Summary: Neji vs. Toddler - a.k.a. Daddy is in charge of lunch and it doesn't end well.  
* Same AU as  **The Mission**  
* Prompt _: NejiTen, beautiful/perfect/intelligent Neji vs baby... feeding time? ;)  
* _ word count: 2.6K

 **4\. Buy a Rose?**  
* Summary: Because a pretty lady should always have flowers  
* Modern day AU/Vampire hunter AU  
* Random one-shot inspired by a recently resurfaced memory of a street vendor asking my boyfriend to buy me a rose... but the guy wasn't my boyfriend. He was a total stranger that happened to be standing near me.  
* word count: 1.3K

 **5\. Crossing Battle Lines**  
* Sumamry: When Lee is injured, Tenten makes a promise to look after the child he has rescued. She was not expecting to also be assigned to look after a former teammate, who never quite left her heart.  
* Quasi-AU/wartime.  
* Darker take on the Neji vs. Toddler prompt  
* word count: 3.4K

 **6\. L'appel du vide**  
* Summary: The problem isn't that she brings him to the edge - it's that she makes him want to leap.  
* Canon Narutoverse  
* word count: 1K

 **7\. Racing Hearts**  
* Summary: Huyga Neji has a problem, and his solution might be the last person on earth who wants to help him.  
* Modern/Racing AU  
* word count: 2.3K

 **8\. Shall We Dance?**  
* Summary: Neji accompanies his Father and Uncle because he was told it was a business matter. So why are they watching the couple in green dance the night away?  
* Dance Marathon AU  
* word count: 1.8K

 **9\. Camellias**  
* Summary: Hinata notices the camelias being left on Neji's grave. Based on a headcanon by phoenixmiko on Tumblr  
* Canon Narutoverse  
* word count: 800ish

 **10\. Classified**  
* Summary: Dr. Neji Huyga suspects that his patient is being abused by her husband, and confronts her.  
* Modern AU, Doctor!Neji  
* word count: 3.6K  
**** _"Classified" addresses the sensitive issue of PTSD as well as abuse. I want to make it very clear before putting this story out there that acknowledging the difficulties of life with someone struggling of PTSD is not the same as romanticizing or condoning any potential/resulting abuse of the people that care for them. In no way is this an attempt to make a hero or a villain out of either party. Also, as it is a short story, it does not and cannot fully explore all of the intricacies and facets of these subjects, and I make no attempt to. This is a snapshot of a few hours in the lives of these characters; that is all._

_This story is written and submitted with respect to all lives touched by the aftermath of war._

**11\. Sacrifice**  
* Summary: War is full of sacrifices that break the heart.  
* Canon Narutoverse with a twist  
* word count: 600ish

 **12\. Like to Like**  
* Summary: In his clan, the old adage 'like to like' is an absolute. Until it isn't.  
* (mostly) Canon Narutoverse  
* word count: 370

 **13\. Whisper**  
* Summary: It takes more than two men wearing spandex or the combined efforts of the Rookie Nine to embarrass Neji or Tenten. Or maybe it just takes the right words.  
* Canon Narutoverse with Neji alive  
* word count: 3.8K

 **14\. Admiration**  
* Summary: Neji has known Tenten her whole life, and admires her.  
* (mostly) Canon Narutoverse  
* Tenten Appreciation Week. Prompt #1  
* word count: 280

 **15\. Your Hand in Mine**  
* Summary: Prompt for NejiTen Month 2017: Week One - Missions/Let me hold your hand for a second. Set in canon AU, five years after the Fourth Shinobi War. Neji not dead.  
* Canon Narutoverse with Neji alive  
* word count: 2.8K

 **16\. Tanabata**  
* Summary: Neji and Tenten at Tanabata through the years  
* Canon Narutoverse with Neji alive  
* word count: 1K

 **17\. Poker Face**  
* Summary: Prompt for NejiTen Month 2017: Week Two - AU/Competitions.  
* Modern Day AU  
* word count: 1.2K

 **18\. Beautiful**  
* Summary: It comes as a simple and honest realization and slips through his lips and into the air between them without his permission or notice.  
* word count: 210

 **19\. Bullseye**  
* Summary: Tenten hasn't had a night with the dart league since the baby was born, and Naruto might be desperate.  
* Modern AU  
* word count: 1,456

**MINISERIES: DRIVE ME CRAZY**

**20\. Drive Me Crazy: Need a Lyft?**  
* Summary:  
* Modern AU  
* word count: 436

 **21\. Drive Me Crazy: Give Chase**  
* Summary: In his clan, the old adage 'like to like' is an absolute. Until it isn't.  
* Modern AU  
* word count: 2,240

 **22\. Drive Me Crazy: Detour**  
* Summary: In his clan, the old adage 'like to like' is an absolute. Until it isn't.  
* Modern AU  
* word count: 3,093

 **23\. Drive Me Crazy: Merge**  
* Summary: In his clan, the old adage 'like to like' is an absolute. Until it isn't.  
* Modern AU  
* word count: 1,967

 ** **24\. For Auld Lang Syne****  
* Summary: New Year means new beginnings - or maybe just fresh starts.  
* Modern AU  
* word count: 2.6K

 **25\. Drive Me Crazy: Swerve - Coming soon!**  
* Summary:  
* Modern AU  
* word count


	2. The Mission

 

Scene: Modern AU. Neji and Tenten are on a retrieval mission, and Neji is NOT amused.

* * *

**Shades of Konoha: Dragon and Phoenix**   
**The Mission**

* * *

For about the hundredth time that day, Neji wondered when he had lost his edge. As a Hyūga, he personified his family's longstanding reputation for being aloof, formal, intelligent, beautiful, and ruthless in the business world. As Hyūga Neji, he had the added reputation of being a genius, drop-dead-gorgeous,and unattainable. He gingerly picked a sticky piece of candy covered in what was probably the next mass-outbreak of bird flu or ebola off of the leg of his black pants and glowered at the woman next to him.

His withering looks had been known to strike fear into the hearts of others, even going so far as reducing the weaker willed to tears. That reminded him. He had to replace those interns. All three of them.

His glare was met with an inelegant snort and rolled eyes. "I keep telling you not to wear those kinds of things when we are out with the kids."

She ignored the killing intent radiating off of him and looked back down to where she stood, thigh-deep in a sea of multicolored plastic balls.

"What kind of a baka idiot wears Armani to a kid's birthday party?" she muttered.

He raked his gaze down her body, taking in her outfit of jeans and a fitted t-shirt. He knew that under the mass of plastic spheres and sea of life-threatening bacteria her feet were covered in bright, intentionally mismatched socks. He looked longingly to where his expensive loafers sat neatly next to her well-worn, low-heeled, calf-high brown boots and folded cardigan. He suppressed his own shudder as he felt along the bottom of the ball pit in sock feet and waded deeper into the quagmire of death masquerading as a kid's play area.

Tenten looked over to him with an amused smirk that he absently recognized as her version of his trademark expression.

"Suck it up, Hyūga," she said with good humor. "The quicker we find Mr. Hokage, the quicker you can go back to trying to look as uncomfortable as possible around children."

Neji opened his mouth to deliver a particularly scathing retort when he caught sight of his niece. Himiwari watched them in earnest, her little fingers hooked in the mesh surrounding the ball pit, her blue eyes wide with genuine, gut-wrenching concern.

"Can you see him, Uncle Neji?" she sniffed, trying to keep her tears at bay. He felt panic rising in his chest as her eyes crested with unshed tears. One big, fat tear rolled down her round cheek, and she rubbed a tiny fist into her eye to keep from crying again.

"Don't worry, Himawari," Tenten said, pushing aside another wave of balls, her sharp eyes fixed on the search. "Uncle Neji won't give up."

"Like Daddy?" she sniffed hopefully.

"Yes, sweetie," Tenten assured her, sliding an impish look over to Neji. "Exactly like Daddy."

Neji's barely suppressed annoyance at being compared to Naruto in any way, shape, or form had Tenten biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he plunged one arm into the sea of plastic balls, and lost objects, visibly holding his breath. Tenten turned to him sharply, saw him grimace, take a breath and crouch as he shoved both arms into the fray, wincing as he turned his face in a desperate attempt to avoid contact with the no doubt contaminated surface.

When he stood, it was with a simultaneously relieved and triumphant smirk, and a stuffed frog in a ridiculous robe and triangular hat dangled from his hand.

"Mr. Hokage!" Himawari cried in delight, and raced around to the entrance of the ball pit, bouncing up and down and clapping her small hands excitedly.

Neji strode as quickly as he was able through what must be legally classified as an attractive nuisance, holding his prize out proudly. He climbed out of the ball pit with the gravitas of Perseus emerging with the hard-won head of Medusa before kneeling before his niece and gently handing her the precious toy.

Himawari clutched the frog tightly, her smile blindingly bright, her eyes full of gratitude and hero-worship. She then flung her little arms around his neck and buried her face into his shirt.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Uncle Neji," she chanted, excitedly before planting a loud kiss on his cheek. "You're the greatest!"

Neji hugged her briefly but affectionately, releasing her to swarm over to the woman stepping out of the pit behind him.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Aunt Tenten!" she cried as Tenten knelt to crush her in a warm hug.

"Anytime, sweetie," she kissed her head. "Let's get back to your Mom. It should be time to cut Bolt's cake soon!"

She ran off with a cheer, and Tenten turned to find her husband with her boots and sweater in hand.

"Now," she asked, pulling up her boot and yanking her arms into the long sweater. "Was that so bad?"

Neji suppressed a shudder and Tenten laughed before pressing a kiss to his lips. "You're a good uncle," she said warmly. "Anyway, think of it as good practice."

"For what?" he snorted. "Ferreting out valuable objects from what should be reclassified as a biohazard?"

"For when it's our turn," she smiled.

Neji scoffed until he noted the curve of his wife's lips, and the arch of her brow. "Our turn?" he asked, the color draining from his face.

"Yeah," She smiled crookedly. "It will be a while before we have to book birthday parties with bouncy castles, but by Bolt's next birthday party we'll be RSVP'ing for three."

"Th-three?" Neji blanched.

"Or four," Tenten shrugged. "You never know."

"F…f….four?" Neji stammered.

"I'm kidding," Tenten laughed and reached for his hand. "C'mon. Himiwari is waiting."

Neji's fingers were loose in her own but gradually wound between hers and tightened. "Did you… does anyone else know?" he asked.

"Just Sakura because she is my doctor," she shrugged. "And Hinata because she guessed."

Neji suddenly remembered his cousin sending home different teas and packages with him for Tenten. It was not an unusual thing for her to do, so at the time he had thought nothing of it.

"Don't look so stunned," his wife teased him. "You'll make everyone else suspicious, and it is too early to share with the gang."

Neji nodded absently, and let his wife drag him to where the rest of the guests were laughing and talking. No one really noted the change in his demeanor, although Hinata gave him an unusual knowing smirk.

Bolt enthusiastically blew out his candles and opened his gifts, and declared this the best birthday ever.

"Gonna be hard to top next year," Tenten said as she helped Himawari into her coat.

"I've already got it figured out," Bolt said proudly, "Right, dad?"

"Yeah!" Narutro cheered enthusiastically. "Believe it."

"Oh, yeah?" Tenten stood and Neji draped an arm around her. "What's next year?"

Naruto and Bolt looked at each other with uncontainable excitement before they both punched the air and declared "Paintball!"

Neji tightened his grip on Tenten and she choked back a laugh. "That's awesome, guys! Right, Neji?"

Neji looked down at his wife who grinned at him impishly and her expression said "You're on your own with this one."

"Can't wait," he cringed.

His friend and nephew cheered and high-fived, and Tenten's eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Maybe," Neji reasoned slowly. "Maybe next year won't be so bad," he flicked his eyes down to her still-flat abdomen. "All things considered."

"Yeah," his wife wound her arms around him and smiled into his shoulder. "All things considered."

* * *

 


	3. Kaiten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: NejiTen, beautiful/perfect/intelligent Neji vs baby... feeding time? ;)  
> Same AU as 'The Mission.' Cute. Largely fluffy.
> 
> Thanks, Aquarius Galuxy. So fun I wrote two. Here is the first:

 

* * *

**Kaiten**

* * *

"You're sure about this?" Tenten asked for probably the hundredth time.

"I don't know what you are so worried about," Neji leaned back against the counter, with a steaming mug of green tea in hand. "It isn't as though I haven't fed our daughter before."

"I know, I know," Tenten peered past him where their child was happily swinging her chubby legs in her high chair, and playing with the handful of cheerios that she had been given. "It's just that she isn't feeling great-"

"Which is why you can't take her to the childcare center at the gym," he interrupted. "I know."

"And you haven't had to feed her in a while," she continued, "and she is teething, and she's gotten to be much pickier about what she'll eat, and-"

"Tenten," he sighed. "Aren't you the one that keeps bragging that I am a genius? I am sure we will be fine. Look," he held out his arms and glanced down to his clothes. "I'm even dressed appropriately."

"You're gonna thank me for that," she muttered, filling her water bottle. "I keep telling you to wear less-nice things around the kids."

"I even have the extra hairties," he held up his wrist, smirking. "Go workout."

"Well…" she hesitated, surveying their home one more time. "I guess it couldn't hurt. I mean, it's not like I'll be gone that long," she trailed off.

Neji watched her with amusement, sipping his tea. "Front pocket. Left."

"I'm sorry?" she looked up.

"Your keys," he answered. "That is where you put them. Right after you put your phone in the microwave."

Tenten quickly ran to get her phone out of the microwave – she must have put it in there when she transferred the scrambled eggs so they'd keep warm.

"Cut up banana," she pointed to one bowl. "Eggs. Fruit. Yogurt. One of my pop tarts. Some small cubes of cheese. Dry cheerios. Goldfishy crackers. Sippy cup of milk. Sippy cup of water. Extra paci. Keep the bowl of fruit in the fridge until the last minute. I think it being cold helps with her teething."

"You are just going to the gym one block from here and not to Suna, correct?" he arched an eyebrow. "Precisely how much do you think she'll eat, Tenten?"

"There is no telling what she'll eat this morning," Tenten reached for her coffee and chucked the last bit. "Two weeks ago it was 2 bananas and three eggs, every morning. A week later, it was all apples and fruit and maybe some egg. Yesterday it was a little bit of everything," she motioned to the lineup on the counter.

"Tenten," Neji started.

"Oh! And remember to keep things out of her reach, and her reach is farther than you think it is." Neji slid a glance over to his daughter while Tenten continued to rattle off instructions. "I made sure that this is all finger food, you don't want to deal with her and utensils right now. If she will only eat the yogurt, throw down some cheerios and she will eat those and let you feed her-"

"Ten,-"

"And she has this new thing where she likes to take the cup and mash it onto the highchair tray, and that makes the milk leak out, and then she drags her fingers through it and, actually, yesterday, she did this really funny thing with-"

Neji put down his mug, and crossed in two strides to put his hands on his wife's shoulders.

"Tenten. Enough. Go."

"Hai," she sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for covering for me." She reached up and kissed him gently, a gesture which he instantly and fervently returned.

"Tire her out," she murmured against his lips, "and we will make good use of her naptime."

"Ah," he managed to compile a whole range of emotions into that monosyllabic utterance, and after the kiss that followed, it was his wife who left smirking.

Neji chuckled to himself, and shook his head before turning to take in his toddler chatting happily to herself as she kicked her legs out and banged them against the footrest of her highchair. His daughter looked up to smile at him, and he reached out to ruffle her hair affectionately.

"Your mother worries too much," he informed her. His daughter watched him carefully with those large gray eyes before he dropped a kiss to her head. She raised chubby hands to his cheeks with a happy squeal, and patted his face enthusiastically, babbling nonsensically. He kissed her nose before taking the small suction cup bowl of eggs, and placing it in front of her. She eagerly reached in, filled her small fist with a fluff of yellow egg, and shoved it into her mouth.

"I see no reason you can't use your fork," he reasoned, and speared another bite of egg before handing the utensil to her. She grabbed it and jammed the food in her mouth, chewing with an alacrity that would have rivaled any Akimichi. Neji smirked again. "There's a good girl," he stated proudly. "Might as well have the spoon, too."

She awkwardly speared the next bit of egg and examined it several times before prying it off of the fork and stuffing it into her mouth with her hand.

"That isn't how we do that," he corrected, stepping forward and taking the fork from her. "Like this." He speared another bite and held it up to her. She eyed him and opened her mouth, warily, watching him suspiciously as she ate the offering.

"Now, you," he said, and turned the fork and handed it to her. When she still eyed him up, he pressed the utensil into her hand and tried to walk her through the motion. "Like this," he explained.

She clenched her baby fist around the fork and began to yank at it insistently, trying to take it from his grasp, scrunching her face into the picture of frustration and discontent.

She was surprisingly strong, and she yanked away the fork only to throw it wildly ahead of her, and to pound small, angry palms on the tray.

Neji was not amused.

He bent for the fork and went to the sink to wash it, only to find she had stuffed two or three more bites of egg into her mouth and was glaring at him with a chunk of egg clutched in each fist.

He stepped forward and she crammed the other two into her pretty-much-full mouth, cheeks bulging, and eyes narrowed in defiance. She then pried up and overturned the bowl, corralling the remaining three egg chunks, chewing as fast as she could.

"Now, is that necessary?" he asked, reaching for the bowl. She backhanded it, and it flew off of the tray and thunked off of his chest. Neji instinctively jumped back, but it was too late; he had crumbly bits of egg and the liquid that had drained off of the eggs speckled down the front of his shirt.

"What was that for?" he frowned, putting the bowl and fork back on her tray, just out of her reach and turning to get a wet paper towel. "It isn't as if I was going to take the eggs away from you." He heard a clatter, and saw the bowl roll across the floor to then wobble before plunking over. He didn't see the fork, but he didn't think it prudent to take time to look.

He took the cold fruit from the refrigerator, placed it in a fresh suction cup bowl, and stuck it to the tray. His daughter eyed him warily as she extended a small hand for the fruit – never taking her eyes off of him. She cautiously picked up a strawberry, tentatively bringing it to her mouth. She held his gaze in that true Hyūga fashion, and chewed slowly – waiting for interference.

After the third piece of fruit, she was apparently satisfied, and grudgingly returned her attention to the food. Neji put the milk in the depression of the tray reserved for a sippy cup and then started stirring the waiting cup of yogurt with a spoon.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Hyūga."

"Uchiha," Neji returned, turning and taking a step away from his humming daughter.

"I need to speak to you about the Iwa case. Fifteen minutes."

Neji flicked a glance to his happily occupied daughter, calculated what was left of her fruit, added some cheerios, and said "Go."

Neither Neji nor Sasuke wasted time in anything. 14 minues and 49 seconds later, their call ended. Neji took another 45 seconds to shoot a quick text to Shino about the case. He was absently noting that his daughter had been largely quiet through the entire conversation. He was grateful.

Grateful when he should have been suspicious.

He felt something brush against his hair, and he swiped at it impatiently. He didn't expect to encounter something mushy.

He jerked his hand back and stared at the piece of banana covered in what he was guessing was yogurt.

Neji looked sharply at his daughter. She, in turn, clapped gleefully, sending a spray of vanilla yogurt spurting off of her tiny palms. He felt something splat into the center of his forehead and slide down his face and on to the floor.

He was too busy taking in the carnage to move. She had somehow reached all of the food Tenten had left out, all while his back was turned. She had dumped and smeared the yogurt all over the tray table, and had mixed in cheerios, goldfish crackers, bananas, mixed fruit, a couple chunks of cheese, and crumbs of a poptart. She was flicking the pliable plastic spout of her milk cup and giggling wildly when droplets of milk went sailing. She turned the cup upside-down and pressed the spout to the tray, forcing milk to puddle in the negative space of the Jackson Pollock interpretation of her breakfast. Neji reached for her, and the handful of cheerios came showering down on him. He instinctively held up an arm to block, and they, of course, bounced off harmlessly (ignoring the three or four that stuck to his sleeves because, yogurt.)

Feeling rather stupid at having just judo-blocked a painless yet heart healthy barrage, Neji dropped his arm, and looked at his daughter.

He was just in time to see her holding her spoon with a challenging and knowing smirk that was a carbon copy of her mother's. The spoonful of yogurt was flung with uncanny precision, as were several others, before the entire spoon, bowl, and fistfuls of food went flying toward Neji.

With a gleeful laugh that bordered on maniacal, she flung every bit of food she could get her hands on before chucking her cup of milk. Apparently he hadn't quite secured the lid, because when the cup hit, the lid flew off and he was drenched in the wholesomeness of vitamin D. The cup rolled comically near his foot as the lid bounced off to parts unknown.

Soaked with milk and splattered with all of his child's essential vitamins and minerals, Neji was, to put it mildly, gobsmacked.

His eyes wandered over the mess and drifted up to see his daughter fishing out the fork that had clearly fallen between the tray and her lap.

Well, that at least he could avoid.

Assuming there was nothing left to lose, he held out his hand for the fork and stepped forward.

His daughter chucked it at him.

He tried to dodge, but stepped on the cup, and in trying to regain his balance on the slick floor, he spun wildly around in a drunken rotation.

"Kai-Ten-!" he bit out, before finally falling on the floor and into the mess. Insult to injury was the water cup she chucked at him, which bonked off of his head before rolling to the kitchen doorway, only to be stopped by Tenten's foot.

Neji looked up to see his wife leaning in the doorway, arms crossed.

Neji cleared his throat. "And just how long have you been there?" he asked, calmly.

"Oh, just about since you fished the first banana out of your hair," she said casually.

"Some help you are," he muttered.

"I was leaving it to the genius," she grinned.

"Why are you back so soon?"

"They cancelled the first class; not enough people showed – probably because of the snow. I'll go back around two o'clock and do that session. So," she looked him over. "What's a 'Kaiten?' Some fancy ninja move you made up?"

"Funny," he narrowed his eyes.

"C'mon," she picked her way across the mess of the floor and held out her hand to him. "I'll help you up. I don't mind if you are sticky."

Neji sighed and let her pull him up. "Go get a shower," she laughed. "I'll take care of Kaiyo in the sink." Their daughter yawned impressively, and Tenten laughed, freeing her from the chair, and hugging her to herself, bananas and all. "Looks like your aim is getting better, little one," she cooed, unphased by the loving hands planted on her cheeks.

By the time Neji had a quick shower and de-fruited his hair, their daughter was playing quietly in the playpen, and Tenten had almost finished cleaning up the kitchen. Neji took over while she took a quick shower and threw all of their clothes in the washer.

Tenten sank on the couch next to Neji and handed him another mug of green tea, snuggling into his side. He draped an arm around her and kissed her forehead, still keeping a watchful eye on their daughter who now had the run of the den.

"Kaiten!"

Both Neji and Tenten looked at each other, and then to their daughter.

She clapped her hands and spun around before falling on her bottom and calling out "Kaiten!"

Tenten snickered. "Looks like Kaiyo has a new game," she eyed Neji.

"KAITEN!" Their daughter squealed, resuming the game before landing with another grin. She toddled over to her father with arms stretched up, clenching and unclenching little fists.

"Up!" She demanded.

Neji placed his tea on the side table and stood, scooping her up. She giggled and gave him a sloppy kiss.

"Does this mean I am forgiven?" he asked, amused.

"Spin!" she urged him and he spun her around, her riotous giggle spilling forth like a shower of sunshine. "Kaiten!" she cried, and, being the genius he was, he promptly collapsed them both onto the couch.

"Again!" she cried between giggles.

Neji obliged, and then Tenten obliged, and then Neji, and then she scrambled down and did it herself, and then Neji… inside of 30 minutes, her eyes were growing heavy and she was yawning.

"I'll give you credit," Tenten said, scooping up their daughter who instantly nuzzled into her shoulder. "You wore her out." She pressed a light kiss to his lips. "I'll put her down for her nap."

She was sure he meant to wait up for her, but she found her husband on their bed, asleep. Tenten curled up next to him, loving the warmth and feel of him in their shared space. She kissed his forehead gently, before snuggling into his side, and allowing herself the rare luxury of a quiet, napping household.

* * *


	4. Buy a Rose?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scene: Modern AU   
> Summary: When a stranger offers to buy you a rose, he might expect more than a 'thank you.' He might also get much more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random one-shot inspired by a recently resurfaced memory of a street vendor asking my boyfriend to buy me a rose... but the guy wasn't my boyfriend. He was a total stranger that happened to be standing near me.

* * *

**Shades of Konoha: Dragon and Phoenix**   
**Buy a rose?**

* * *

"Buy a rose for the lady?"

The street vendor was peddling his wares between them, and he offered the bright stems of red roses to the man next to her, grinning hopefully.

"No thanks," she said waving him away. "We're not together."

"But you look well together," the peddler pressed. "And a pretty girl should have a flower, shouldn't she? What does the gentleman say?"

"It really isn't…"

"You are right," the voice was smooth and the arch of the eyebrow clever. He handed over the money and the peddler handed her the flower.

"Have a good night, you, two," he waved cheerfully before moving on to the other potential patrons wandering the streets.

"That wasn't really necessary," she said, turning to him.

"It is always necessary for a beautiful girl to have flowers," he said seriously.

"Well there is a dying philosophy,' she laughed. "But thanks just the same."

"Treat you to a drink?"

"I really shouldn't," she checked the time. "I have to get to work in the morning."

"Where is work?"

"In the city," she shrugged. "It's a hell of a commute and I need to get some sleep." The streets had cleared and the revelers from the game were clearing out.

"That is a shame," he said, and his voice was lower than it had been. "I had looked forward to the pleasure of your company."

"It's a $2 rose from a street vendor, my friend, not a full course meal and date," she said archly. "It hardly secures the promise of company."

"True," he said, his voice low and velvet and steel, "but I had hoped for it just the same. Are you sure you won't change your mind?"

"No can do, I'm afraid," she shrugged. "Sorry."

In the next moment he had caught her up and moved with impossible speed to slam her against the alley wall. "Perhaps I can persuade you," he sneered, his calm exterior fading into something far more sinister and threatening. He buried his nose in her neck, the pulse of her blood a hypnotic rhythm – the smell of it intoxicating. He inhaled deeply, slaking a visceral need to fill his lungs with her scent.

"Not likely," she said evenly, and he wondered that she was so ignorant of her situation.

"We'll see," he hissed, licking up her neck, and skimming the growing points of his canines along the column of her throat.

"Let's not."

In the next second he was doubling over in pain, absently wondering how many centuries it had been since someone had done something as pedestrian as kneeing him in the groin. The fist that connected to his face after that was solid and the punch infused with chakra. The next thing he knew he was the one slammed and then released to slide down the wall, dazed.

"Why… why can't I…?!"

"Did you know," she asked conversationally, standing over him, and dropping into a crouch so she was straddling his thighs, but not touching him. "That it is possible to atomize silver? When your kind inhales it, can weaken you considerably. Our chemist knew enough to add in some other goodies – I suspect hemlock and garlic, myself – but she won't tell us the secret ingredients."

"Not that it matters much," she pulled a revolver from somewhere on her person and pushed the chamber out, slowly loading it in front of him. "It helps to have you slowed down, but it was pretty much over once I had you in my sights."

His eyes grew wide, and the rumors and warnings came back to him.

"Y…you…. You're…. Heaven," he stammered.

She flicked the chamber back in and spun it.

He laughed weakly. "So the hunter is back, is she? Shame about your partner," he said with a twisted smirk. "Is Heaven still looking for Earth?"

She twirled the gun absently on her finger before firing a bullet into his leg. He howled in baffled agony. How was it that he could feel pain?!

"I'm sorry," she said. "What was that, now?"

"Fucking bitch," he grasped his leg, his vision blurring and his breathing and reflexes slowing.

She fired into his other leg.

"Wrong answer," she shrugged.

"Y…you'll never find him, Heaven," he glared. "The master is too strong."

"I've heard." She said casually. "From the last ninety-nine of your kind that I encountered."

"Ninety-nine…?" his eyes were wide. "It's been you… this whole time, it was you? Are you fucking kidding me?! You fucking bit-"

Two more shots; right and left shoulders. His arms now hung limp at his sides.

"These won't kill you," she nodded to his wounds. "But you decide if the last one does. I have a few questions for you and I expect answers."

"Go to hell," he snarled.

"Not interested," she said cooly. "My suspicion is that you don't actually know anything, and are therefore of no use to me. We'll see what the mind bender says."

"Your kind can't read our minds," he narrowed his eyes. "You'd have to be a …."

His eyes went wide and he stared into space, dazed.

"Nothing here," the voice rang in her earpiece.

"That was fast," she muttered.

"If you had to comb through the mess that is this kind of guy's mind, you'd be fast, too," Ino huffed.

The vampire came back to consciousness having never realized he lost it, and growled at her. "You can't read our minds. I won't tell you a thing."

"We both know that is because you have nothing  _to_  tell me," she said evenly. "That means you are officially of no use to me."

"And we both know you can't kill me," his smile gleamed menacingly. "Not since-"

BLAM!

The final shot pierced his heart, and it was over.

"Don't believe everything you hear," she said tightly.

She watched the body disintegrate and five distorted pieces of silver clattered to the ground with the ashes.

One hundred out of one hundred.

"Nice job," the lazy voice came from behind her.

He stepped out of the shadows as one born to linger there.

"Too bad it was a waste of time,'' she muttered.

"Not quite," he corrected. "Ino thinks we may have pieced together a few new things. Let's get back to base."

"Fine," she nodded. She knelt and plucked the silver pieces from the ground and put them carefully inside of her pocket.

She looked up through the gaps of buildings to the glimpses of night sky.

There was a hesitation from her compatriot. "Listen. About your partner-"

"He's not dead," she said firmly. "I'd know if he was." When she was met with only silence, she slid a glance over to the other agent. "Don't believe me, Nara?" she challenged.

"I know better than to doubt you," he sighed. "Let's get going."

She gave a perfunctory nod.

"Next time," she addressed the heap of ashes at her feet, "think twice about how you approach a girl. No means no."

With a series of hand signs, she forced the air forward and the remaining black dust was scattered into oblivion.

"And for the record?" she said to the open air. "The name's Tenten. And master or no master, I will find Neji."

With that, she stepped back into the shadows, leaving nothing behind but a single, battered rose to wilt on the pavement.

* * *

_Not planning on taking this anywhere; just a quick oneshot. Thanks for reading! -GL_


	5. Crossing Battle Lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quasi-AU/wartime. Oneshot.  
> When Lee is injured, Tenten makes a promise to look after the child he has rescued. She was not expecting to also be assigned to look after a former teammate, who never quite left her heart.

 

* * *

**Crossing Battle Lines**

* * *

Lee stumbles into the medical tent, blood dripping from the jagged gash slicing through one bushy eyebrow to rend his forehead.

Tenten jumps up from her seat on the cot, yanking out the IV (again), and rushes to his side in just enough time for him to press a warm bundle from under his cloak into her arms. She is simultaneously snaking one arm around him and holding the other close to her body, just now realizing that there is warm breath fanning against her throat and tiny arms winding about her neck. She almost shoves the bundle away – in guerilla warfare there are no compunctions about how to or not to use children - but Lee catches her eyes knowingly. He knows what she is thinking, and is quick to reassure her.

"Pulled her from the orphanage wreckage," Lee says on broken breaths, holding Tenten's gaze until her pupils contract again, and the old ghosts and monsters are tucked away. Sakura comes running over, pushing past the medic that is still starring dumbly at Tenten, clearly unsure about the procedure for demanding that a superior officer return to have their treatment completed.

"Don't just stand there," Sakura snaps at him. "Can't you see this soldier is in need of help?" In a nanosecond, the other man is supporting Lee's weight and Sakura is wiping away the blood from his face, trying to get a better sense of the severity of his injury.

"What happened, Soldier," she asks, her tone professional but not unkind. They all knew that this was a necessity of war. Compartmentalize. Stay on task. Don't look back.

"Booby-trapped," he says, his normally exuberant manner toned to an assured stillness. "Exploding tags and shrapnel. Gai-sensei and I were fast enough to get the three remaining children out."

Sakura works quickly, and two other medics come to assist her.

A kindly nurse guides Tenten back to her cot, and takes the child from her. "I'll make sure there are no injuries," she assures the kunoichi, whose eyes are fixed on her friend. "Sit and finish your treatment."

She gives a curt nod of acknowledgement, not even registering when they re-insert the IV.

Eventually, she is finished, Lee is patched and stabilized, the child is deemed as uninjured, and is back in Tenten's arms.

Lee looks wearily over to Tenten.

"Thanks for grabbing her," he nods to the bundle of chubby limbs and large eyes in her arms. "I'll take her over as soon as I'm cleared."

"You have deep internal injuries, and significant blood loss," Sakura says pointedly to Lee. "You are relieved of all duties until further notice, Soldier."

Lee is on the brink of a heartfelt objection, but Tenten stills him with a hand to his sleeve. "I'll take care of her, Lee," she says quietly, "And I'll check in on the others."

Lee's face melts into a curious hybrid of relief and gratitude and some message encrypted in their own private cypher learned in the walls of an institutional childhood, and perfected as whispers between narrow bunks when they should have been sleeping.

"Thanks, Tenten." He allows Sakura and the other medic to prop him up on the raised back of the cot. She gives him a nod, and leaves while Sakura's glowing chakra-infused palm begins mending his wounds.

* * *

He finds her in an abandoned apartment in the secured area. He hears her before he sees her, confused by her tone, although it is undoubtedly her voice. He instinctively activates his Byakugan, only to immediately turn it off, putting fingertips to his temples. He strained his Byakugan through overuse after being exposed to that flash-bomb, and now he has to wait a day or so to use it. It makes him feel unnerved – he is far too accustomed to being able to see everything on command to be comfortable in this state.

Just in case, he palms a kunai and several weapons, and moves quietly toward her voice.

He doesn't know what he had expected to see, but it certainly wasn't Tenten chatting amicably with a small child in a highchair.

He lets his presence be sensed, and she glances up at him. "How're the eyes?" she asks without preamble.

"On forced rest," he grunts. "I saw Lee. He sent me to see if you needed backup." His eyes roved over the child. "He didn't say why."

"No need," she turns to the quiet and pleasant child in the highchair with a small smile that he almost remembers. "Chōji got food together for her, and she is processing well. He did a quick check; doesn't look like she has any food allergies or anything to worry about. Maybe some minor malnutrition, but he gave her some supplements."

Neji frowns. "How did he make her take them?"

"He has dissolvable ones for kids. I was going to take her to see the other kids and check in on them."

"If you are going to do that, you'd better hurry," Neji flicks a glance to the clock on the wall. "They are in a different sector and lockdown is in twenty minutes. You have just enough time to get her to the others."

"She's not going to the others," Tenten says quietly, handing the child the lidded cup that slid too far back on the tray of the highchair. "She is staying here."

"Here?" Neji asks incredulously. "Why here?"

He knows should probablydefinitely stop when he sees that particular set to her jaw, but he is in no mood to be placatory or careful. "Surely there is somewhere better suited and someone better qualified," he continued.

"Probably," she returns with just enough acid to serve as a warning, "but one: I promised Lee, two: she is the first half of my protection assignment for the next 48 hours, hence Kakashi assigning me to this small, functional apartment in the most stable building in the most secured location of the god damned village."

"First half? Where is the second assignment?"

Tenten narrows her eyes.

"I'm looking at him."

Neji glowers at her, and she breaks the staring contest, but only when the small child makes some noises.

"You were right about one thing," She says, stuffing a scroll into her belt. "I have to hurry. Does your genius extend to the feeding of and basic care of a toddler? I'll be gone no more than twenty minutes, tops."

"If you can do it, what makes you think I can't," Neji snorts.

Tenten's lips twist into a hard smirk "We'll see how your genius stacks up against my experience. Food's on the table, Hyūga."

She strides past him, and he catches her arm. They are shoulder to shoulder, and she takes a half of a step backward to look up into his tell-nothing features and his morning-mist eyes.

"We haven't finished disarming all of the traps yet," his voice is low and calm. "There is still a viable threat between the secured sectors."

"Understood."

She is not looking at him, but he is watching her closely. The words that finally bring her eyes to his tumble from his mouth without his consent.

"Make sure you come back," he says quietly. "That's an order."

The she stares across the chasm between them. It is incalculably vast and filled with volatile energies and atomized gunpowder, and Tenten knows from experience that her words are all too sharp, too heavy, or too laden with explosives to cross.

He accepts her nod of tactical retreat, and she slips out of the door and into the early twilight of yet another year-long day.

He doesn't have time to stare into the space of half-forgotten promises. He winces when he reflexively tries to watch after her with his Byakugan. Nothing. Nothing but a dull ache behind his eyes.

He rakes a hand down his face before turning back to the quiet, serious child that is watching him carefully.

She seems far too small for such a look – as if the weight of it alone could keep the world at tiny-arms-length.

"I won't hurt you," he grumbles, looking at the food that has been carefully laid out by Tenten. Looks simple enough. Some kind of dry cereal, a few bowls of things of various consistencies, some cut up fruit. He peers at the child, but he can't tell what teeth she does or doesn't have. He scoops up the first bowl and picks up where Tenten left off.

Neji is from a large clan. He is not ignorant of what to do with children. Out of practice, perhaps, but not ignorant. He holds the spoon out to her and she presses her little lips together and turns her head.

"It's not so bad," he says gruffly. "I've never known an Akimkichi to make something inedible." Several more attempts met with the same result, so Neji puts down one bowl and reaches for another. She stretches hands out for the first bowl. He brings it back and offers it to her. She turns her head away. He puts the spoon down and holds the bridge of his nose between his fingers and counts to ten.

When he opens his eyes, she is carefully using the spoon to (sloppily) feed herself.

"Independent, are we?" he arches an eyebrow at the rapidly if not efficiently disappearing food. He shrugs and grabs the bowls of fruit and crackers. She immediately puts the fork down and reaches greedily for the fruit, shoving it into her mouth.

"Slow down," Neji chides "I shall not take it from you."

She does not slow down. Fistfuls of fruit are smashed into her mouth, the next bite always gripped in her tiny hands and at the ready.

"At least use your fork," he scoffs, spearing a strawberry with said utensil and handing it to her. She takes the fork, studies it, pries the fruit off, and eats the berry before tossing the fork to the side. Neji catches it and puts it back on the tray. "Nice try," he smirks. He brings the bowl of what looks to be yogurt into the mix. He might not be able to use his Byakugan, but his eyesight is as good as ever. Every spoon she drops, every fork she tosses, every round 'o' of cereal – he catches and retrieves.

She pounds happy toddler palms on the tray of food and begins to laugh, swinging her legs and then curling her knees up almost under the tray.

Neji eyes his mini-nemesis smugly. She has eaten more than she has attempted to throw, and so far, no damage.

She watches him carefully, gripping the cup of milk in both hands.

With no warning, she chucks her cup of milk directly at him, and he intercepts its wobbly trajectory, needing two hands to keep it from slipping through his fingers.

His victory is fleeting, though.

She has managed to get both legs up under the tray of the highchair, and kicks forward, sending the tray, food, utensils, and a cup of water flying at him. He acts instinctively, the only way he can think to quickly and completely redirect the barrage away from both himself and the toddler.

_"Hakkeshō Kaiten!"_

The little girl's eyes grow wide as he becomes a blur of spinning blue chakra, and the tray, bowls, forks, milk, and water go flying off to the side.

"What the-?!"

The resulting clatter drowns out the profanity that no doubt followed.

Neji halts his rotation, a kunai in each hand, and stands protectively in front of the little girl.

He sees a tactical error in deciding to use his Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Rotation sans Byakugan.

He was unable to account for a casualty.

Tenten stares back at him, crouched and battle ready, also with a kunai in each hand. She deflected the tray (kicked and now slammed against the side wall, utensils embedded in the wall and floor,) but her personal arsenal didn't have a weapon suitable for a Kaiten pureed barrage of food, and she is now splattered from head to toe with remnants of the little girl's meal.

They stare at each other a moment longer in their respective battle-ready stances.

They don't move until the child bursts out laughing and claps wildly, uttering the first word they have heard from her. "Again!"

The tension between them sublimates into nothing, and Neji turns to check the child while Tenten assesses her own damage.

"Hyūga," Tenten swipes a glob of what probably used to be banana out of her eyes. "What. The. Actual. Fu-"

"Now, now," Genma interrupts, rounding the corner from where he had sensibly taken cover. "Not in front of the baby, Tenten."

Tenten clamps her mouth shut (after muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'bastard,') and glares at Genma as he picks his way across the carnage to the toddler who is still strapped into the highchair.

"Sorry about them," he jerks his head to a now glowering Neji and Tenten. "They have no manners." Genma nonchalantly picks up the wet towel Tenten set to the side earlier, and with a gentleness with which no one would have ever have thought to credit to him, cleans off the child's face and hands. He unbuckles her from the highchair and scoops her up, much to the child's apparent delight.

Genma transfers his senbon from his mouth to his pocket, and the little girl instantly throws her little arms around his neck. He grins smugly down at her before looking up innocently at Tenten's glare and Neji's dubious expression.

"What?" he answers their obvious question. "Kids love me. Didn't you know that?"

When neither of them reply, he redirects his attention to the orphan.

"C'mon," he says to the little one. "Good thing I intercepted Tenten. Turns out we found your brother and sister. They were given refuge at the orphanage," he explains to the two soldiers. "We might have even freed their parents from that work camp last month. I'm taking this little one to her family. In the mean time," he looks around at the food-splattered walls, "you might want to clean up."

This time, they both glare at him.

He ignores them both as he fishes a scroll out from his belt and hands it to Tenten. "Supplies. Food. Bedding. Clothes. Toiletries. We are sealing this area tonight. Neji, you rest that Byakugan of yours. Tenten, you are technically on guard duty, but see if you can actually get over that chakra exhaustion Sakura has been hounding you about for a month."

He picks his way to the door. "Wave bye-bye," he encourages the toddler, and she replies enthusiastically. "Say, 'See you in two days!'" Genma sing-songs.

Tenten blinks. "Wait, what? Two days?! Genma, are you out of your everloving-"

The door clicks shut behind him, and neither of them needs to test the lock to know he has sealed it shut. Any attempt to leave the apartment will result in a camp-wide alert, and triggering it unnecessarily can get a soldier court-martialed.

Tenten stands somewhere between shock and indignation, but all she can do is repeat, "Two days?" She turns before looking up at him. "Are your eyes that bad?" she asks, more concerned than caustic.

"Is your chakra exhaustion?" Neji retorts.

She doesn't reply.

Instead, Tenten looks around the food splattered area. "I don't know whether to clean me or the apartment first," she mutters. "Not that I should have to clean any of this mess. I wasn't expecting an ambush unison raid from a toddler and my-" she faltered. "Well, anyway," she says abruptly and crosses to the kitchen. "I can at least wipe off."

Neji watches her briskly wipe then wash her face with concise, perfunctory movements. She makes a valiant attempt to get the bulk of the food off of her clothing with a wet rag, before – literally – throwing in the towel. The thunk of wet terrycloth against the sink punctuates the angry  _zwip_  of Tenten unzipping her flak vest. She shrugs out of it and places it on the counter.

"This is ridiculous," she scoffs. "I am tired, cold, and covered in pureed food, because some genius decided to combat a toddler with his clan's secret ultimate defense technique." She shakes her head. "I'm getting a shower. You," she narrows her eyes at Neji and tosses him a roll of paper towels. "You. Start cleaning."

He catches it effortlessly, watching her push away the persistent fatigue. "You came back."

Tenten doesn't stop or look up as she sorts through her scrolls for supplies. "Of course I did," she snorts. "I am assigned to be here."

"That isn't what I meant," he says softly.

The voice is right behind her, and it is warmer – gentler than she remembers.

She half looks over her shoulder, and once again, sees that yawning chasm stretch between them, filled with memories and words unsaid. She drops her gaze to her scroll and wraps herself in the threadbare tatters of her pride to keep him from seeing where the hurt still lingers.

"I'm tired, Hyūga," she sighs, turning around slowly, and he can't miss the circles under her eyes. "I have had a crazy three months of non-stop missions in a year of particularly insane missions for this war, and have essentially reclassified sleep as a luxury." She looks him over. "I'm not back," she shakes her head. "And neither are you. We're just along for the ride."

"You don't believe that," he frowns. "You never did."

"I suppose I didn't," she sighs. "But  _you_  did. And that is what mattered." Her eyes wandered over him before she gave her head a small shake. "Let it go, Neji. It-"

She can't finish because his fingers are pressed to her mouth.

His eyes hold something that she is afraid to recognize and she is stunned into a wary silence as he slides his fingertips over the curve of her cheek to cup her jaw, trailing his thumb over her lips.

Tenten's eyes widen, and she feels her pulse leap to clamor in her ears. She wills herself to be still.

"I thought you had forgotten," he traces the outline of her lips with his thumb, and she has to curb her nervous habit of licking them.

"Forgotten what?" she asks, her tone breathier than she'd like it to be.

He dips his head to her, and their noses are almost touching. "My name," his breath is a whisper on her damp cheek. "It has been years since I have heard it from you."

"Since you became Captain," she allows.

"No," he breathes. "Longer," but she knows exactly when she stopped using his name. She stopped that night on the dawn of war, before the teams were about to be divided and reassigned. The night before she found out she would leave at the next dawn with Lee for a long-term assignment in this sector.

They hadn't been in the same unit in almost three years. Their paths crossed, but never again as they had that night. The last two months saw them both assigned to this sector, but had seen one another only rarely.

He has missed his name on her lips. All those times he worried for her – all those times he thought of what they had almost started – those phantasms melt away with that one, simple word. A man done with regrets, he brushes his lips against hers. She tastes of strawberries and bananas, and he tells himself that this time he'll do everything in his power to stay with her. Something warm and tentative roils in his blood. He will call it anticipation, because he is not ready to admit it is hope.

But as her arms wrap around his neck, he will freely admit that it is something more and better and truer than anything he has felt before. He has two days to show her everything he hasn't been able to say, and he isn't going to waste a second.

* * *

_Second response to AG's prompt for perfect Neji vs. toddler. Not taking this story anywhere._


	6. L'appel du vide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The problem isn't that she brings him to the edge - it's that she makes him want to leap.

 

* * *

**L'appel du vide**

* * *

_L'appel du vide: "The call of the void" is this French expression's literal translation, but more significantly it's used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places._

"I absolutely refuse."

"Oh, come on, Neji!" she coaxed. "It will be fun!"

"No," Neji set his jaw firmly, and she knew he would not be moved.

"Ok," she shrugged. "Suit yourself. Lee," she called over to him. "You in?"

"Of course!" he jumped down from his perch high in the trees somersaulting to land next to her.

"Are you sure, Neji?" Lee looked up to where their remaining teammate sat stubbornly in a tree, arms crossed, back straight, eyes closed.

"Positive," he said coolly.

"C'mon, Lee," Tenten started to walk away. "He can't help it if he's scared."

Lee's eyes went wider than saucers.

"Eternal rival," he clenched a fist and called up to Neji. "Is this true?"

Neji grimaced.

"Of course not, Lee," he said stiffly. "I simply find no merit or justification in undertaking reckless risks – particularly those that can break the neck of the risk taker."

"So, scared," Tenten said flatly. "It's okay. We get it. Lee – hurry up!"

Lee gave one last look at Neji before hurrying after her.

Neji ground his teeth and activated his Byakugan.

He watched as they strode through the woods to a nearby cliff.

They didn't have to go far.

They were in the Land of Waterfalls.

Everywhere was a nearby cliff.

This particular waterfall was not egregiously high, and the pool below it was deep and safe for swimming. The locals had marked it on their map, and he had double checked it with his Byakugan.

He simply saw no point into diving into it from such a height – no matter what the locals said or did.

Lee rushed to pull off his leg weights and usual uniform, and Neji was thankful he had perfected the art of how to use his Byakugan in layers.

Luckily, Lee forewent Gai's preferred selection of swimwear, and instead followed Tenten's advice.

"You'll freeze your youth off," she warned him when she saw the speedo he had initially packed for the hike. "Take that instead," she pointed to the short green bodysuit. "There are rocks along the banks, and it's too early in the season for the water to have warmed up yet."

She had been right, of course. The air temperature was warm, but the water would be cold.

He shifted his gaze to her.

Always prepared, Tenten had worn the bottom of a bathing suit instead of underwear. In seconds, she'd expertly swapped out her sports bra for the top of her suit (and had he been standing next to her, he still wouldn't have seen anything indecent) and then wriggled into her own short bodysuit. It was sky blue with navy on the sides, and it reminded him of outfits from their genin days.

Lee let out a wild whoop, and raced to the edge of the cliff before taking a flying dive and flipping into the water.

He surfaced and shook out his shiny bowl cut and gave Tenten a thumbs up.

"The water's fine!" he assured her.

Tenten grinned brightly and prepared her dive.

He'd seen her do it a thousand times, and it always made him catch his breath.

It was a combination of concern and admiration for her.

Heights didn't bother Tenten – not that they bothered Neji, really.

But falling from them did.

No. That wasn't quite it.

When Neji stood at the edge of a cliff, or somewhere insanely high, there was always some small voice in the recesses of his mind that whispered:

"Jump."

It was nonsense, of course.

He chalked it up to intellectual curiosity, but secretly he knew it was more than that.

It was a suppressed need to take a mindless risk.

To do something insane.

To fly.

And as she spread her arms and swan dived off of the cliff, she appeared not to fall, but to soar, as if any moment she could lift up and skim across the water before racing into the clouds and the sun.

His heart always beat faster when she jumped, and his breath returned when she plunged cleanly into the water, resurfacing a moment later.

She and Lee were laughing and enjoying a swim before climbing back up – because one dive was never enough for them.

And that, Neji supposed, was the danger of Tenten.

She liked to live on edges.

Neji lived firmly in between the lines.

She brought her sunshine and freedom into his confines, and was gradually bringing him out.

She was the only one who could coax him to the edge.

She made him want to leap.

It was ludicrous.

Still, as he watched her and Lee race up the hill and prepare to dive again, he couldn't keep from smiling.

"Tenten!" Lee stretched enthusiastically. "If I do not jump twice as far this time, I shall do 500 laps around the village before dinner!"

Moments later – to both Tenten and Neji's relief – Lee waved triumphantly from the water.

Tenten waved back, smiling brightly.

Neji watched her as she stepped back from the edge and looked around.

She stopped when she pinpointed where he must be, and waved.

She was too far away to see him, but she knew he'd be watching.

She _trusted_ him to be watching.

When she leaps to take flight, it for both of them.

Neji sighed his relief when she resurfaced.

He leaned back against the tree, looked up to the sky and thought:

"She is teaching me to fly."

The realization is warm under his skin, and he finds himself hoping

that maybe one day,

they would take a different kind of leap

Together.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_


	7. Racing Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Huyga Neji has a problem, and his solution might be the last person on earth who wants to help him. Racing AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been kicking around a few racing AU concepts - some more real-world, some more 'speed racer-esque. Might consider coming back to this one and expanding on it.

 

* * *

**Racing Hearts**

* * *

He checked the address again.

The number spray-painted on the cracked, uneven curb matched the one hastily scrawled on the whisky-splattered cocktail napkin.

"So this is it," he murmured, taking it all in.

The garage wasn't in the best area of town, which he supposed shouldn't surprise him.

He'd heard that the owner had fallen on hard times.

That was about all the man at the bar had told him; that and that he'd find the answer to his problems here. He wasn't even sure if he was supposed to be looking for the owner or someone who worked here, but he was told to go early and go alone.

He pulled his car over and parked, noting that despite the location, the grounds and building were well maintained, and there was an air of dependability in the aging neighborhood

He picked his way over the broken sidewalk, pausing to listen.

The whir of machinery trickled out into the early light, as well as the faint strains of classic rock crackling through an old radio.

The sign on the door was flipped to 'closed,' but the doors to the main garage were open.

He strode in, and a pleasant chime rang in the building.

"Hold on!" a muffled voice came up from under a battered truck. "Be right out."

The squeak of wheels and a clatter of a wrench being tossed in a tool-box later, a figure in coveralls emerged.

"We aren't open yet," the cheerful greeting came closer, "is there something I can do for..,Oh." The tone went flat. "Never mind."

Pearlescent eyes locked with hazel as she stared him down, hands on hips.

"We're closed," she said coolly, before turning on her heel and striding back into the garage.

"I can see that," he returned sardonically, looking around the empty-but-for-her shop. "It's a wonder you even bother opening."

"I don't," she smiled, all steel-barbed honey. "At least not for you or anyone in your clan. Don't know how you found your way here, but you can find yourself back to wherever you came from."

She yanked down the zipper of her coveralls and shrugged her arms out of the sleeves before tying them around her waist.

Her cheek had a streak of dirt that read like warpaint in the defiance of her features. Her arms were taut and lean and well-muscled in her black tanktop. She turned an equally muscled and strong back to him and went over to a work bench and began scribbling rapidly on a clipboard. Her entire posture screamed that she could be tipped to hostile faster than he could count the two buns on the top of her head. All of this might have served as a warning to a sensible man.

He wasn't feeling particularly sensible.

"That is a pretty decided attitude to have about someone you've never met," he said idly, "Aren't you even curious about why I am here?"

"No," she said curtly. "And I don't need to meet anyone else from your clan, thank you very much."

"Neji," he supplied, much to her annoyance and his amusement. "Hyūga Neji, but I believe you deduced that."

"Fine," she flicked through the pages on her clipboard. "Goodbye, Neji. Door's that way," she jerked her thumb at the open garage door behind him.

There was something in the pertness of her eyes and mouth that told him she was indeed curious – by nature if not by incident – no matter what she said to the contrary.

He wandered into the garage while she pointedly ignored him.

"What is that over there?" he asked, pointing.

"Unless you are looking at the exit," she said, distracted by the figures she was comparing, "Then it's none of your concern."

She was so absorbed in what she was doing, she thought he might have left.

Until she heard the _fwhoop_ ' of fabric being flicked back and the dull thud of canvas hitting the floor.

"Ahh," the sound of enlightenment was muffled. "So that's where it got to."

She dropped everything and stalked over to where he stood, hands on hips, eying the beautiful vehicle that had been hidden under the unassuming cover.

It was sleek and fast and jet black with two green stripes running up the hood, over the roof, and down the back.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she shoved past him to get the cover off of the floor and back onto the vehicle.

"Who me?" he tried a door and found it to be unlocked. "Nothing. I'm not even here." He slid into the passenger seat and looked around the car with appreciation.

"Green interior," he noted. "So this really is the Springtime of Youth."

"Get your ass out of that car," she seethed, hands fisted in the fabric, probably to keep from throttling him.

"Or you'll what," he turned a smug look at her.

"Hard to say," she narrowed her eyes. "I have lots of things I'd love to do the people who took everything from the people I love – none of which are pleasant, and plenty of which would ruin the interior."

"And who are you, exactly?" he asked coolly. "How are you tied into all of this?" he motioned to the garage and the car."

"You came here," she crossed her arms. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I came here," he pulled the napkin out of his breast pocket, "because I was told if I came, I'd find what I was looking for."

"Whatever you think you came here to find, it isn't here," she bit back. "So get the hell out."

"I think it is," he leaned back in the seat and drummed fingers on folded arms. "This car has clearly been maintained. I am guessing that you also service the engine?" he raised his eyebrows in question. She offered a hard stare in return.

"I think I'm right," he said pleasantly. "And I think that once you hear why I am here, and what I came to offer, you will jump at the chance to work with me."

Her eyes went so wide and so round, he thought she might harm herself.

"Oh, I've got to hear this," she muttered, folding the cover over her arm and putting it carefully on a nearby bench. She shifted her weight to one hip and stared him down. "I'm looking forward to the pleasure of shooting you down."

"We'll see," Neji smiled, congratulating himself on having snagged her attention. "We are sponsoring a driver in the Konoha Grand Prix. I need someone to head up the engineering and mechanic team, and if I don't miss my guess, you're the person for the job."

"Is that all?" She scoffed. "Well that was fast. Sorry. No deal."

"Oh, I think you'll reconsider when you hear who we've hired to drive for us," he flicked an invisible fleck of something off of his trouser leg and onto the garage floor.

"Doubt it."

"Are you familiar with the name Rock Lee?"

She looked as if her world slipped a timing belt, sending her engine clattering into chaos.

"Lee," she breathed in astonishment. "No, he… he can't – he wouldn't – I don't believe you," she shook her head. "Besides – he is a Formula One racer now; he isn't available for general contracts and he certainly wouldn't risk his standing by entering into a race that isn't a part of his circuit."

"It is a showcase year, and we have turned the event into a charity one," Neji's smile was meant to goad her. "It took some negotiation, but the Formula One racers have been allowed to participate. And I hardly need to tell you that your friend is one of the best drivers available."

"He promised," she said, throat tight. "He promised Gai-sensei he wouldn't run this race – not anymore. Not since-"

"Since the fiasco that ended his teacher's career?" Neji arched an eyebrow. "I don't see how you can blame the race for the incompetence of its drivers."

Her face paled and then flushed angrily.

Her eyes glittered dangerously.

"Get out of here," she growled. "You know NOTHING."

"I know that Lee is having a terrible time adjusting to our car," Neji frowned. "He almost crashed twice at practice last week."

"It's his reflexes," she said automatically.

"Pity," Neji sneered. "Guess we need someone better."

"There is no one better," she spat back. "His reflexes are too damned fast," she continued. "Chances are your shitty transmission can't keep up with him; he needs something custom that you can't possibly-

"We can't replicate," he finished. "You are exactly right. No matter how hard we try," he shrugged. "We can't seem to do it. We tried to find the person who built your mentor's car, but to no avail."

"Wouldn't do you any good," she laughed bitterly. "He's impossible to find, and he wouldn't help you. Even for Lee. Besides he-" she bit off the rest of her sentence.

"He didn't design or build Lee's current car," Neji finished for her. "You did."

"What makes you think that?" she asked tightly.

"Oh, I don't think," his smirk was predatory. "I know."

"How?" she demands.

"Let's say it's enough that I know," he shrugged elegantly. "Just like you know that particular car can't be entered in this race, and I know that Rock Lee will race with or without your help. His chances of coming out unscathed will improve exponentially if you cooperate."

Her jaw was tight.

"Hey boss," a voice echoed from the other side of the garage. "Sorry I'm late – Family's still visiting. So what are we-."

He stopped abruptly when he spotted them.

Neji was still in the passenger seat of the car, and she looked like she might kill him.

The mechanic looked between them, and his manner abruptly shifted, his voice hard.

"What's going on, Morino?"

She never broke eye contact with Neji.

"Nothing, Kankurō," she said, steel threading her words. "Mr. Hyūga here was just leaving."

"Hyūga?" he asked, eyes darting between the two of them, his body language clearly reading 'oh, fuck.'

Neji tipped his head, studying the two of them, idly noting the animosity was rolling off of her in waves.

He slipped out of the car, thinking.

_Morino._

_Morino_.

The name rolled in his head, and he conjured up the image of a large man – a powerful man – but he wasn't connected to the racing world.

Then he remembered.

"Morino," he said looking her over, realization dawning on him.

There had been a driver with that name. An up and coming driver that had made quite a name for himself on the amateur circuit, who died in suspicious circumstances shortly after joining the professionals.

He had been a Morino.

Morino Idate.

Neji noted the raw note in her anger, and made the last connection.

Idate was estranged from his brother, Ibiki, and had no other siblings. This woman then…

"You're Idate's widow," he said, the puzzle falling into place.

Her spine went solid iron, and Kankurō crossed to stand next to her. He was a solidly built man – burly with shaggy brown hair and dark, menacing eyes.

The electricity that buzzed between them all was volatile.

Neji closed the door of the retired vehicle with care that bordered on reverence.

"Then, you more than anyone should want to make sure that our driver stays safe," he said quietly, and he felt a twinge of guilt knowing that this was the angle that would secure his triumph.

He stepped away from the car, slowly reaching into his breast pocket. Kankurō's eyes narrowed and he immediately stepped between them.

Neji arched an eyebrow and flicked out a business card.

"It's alright, Kankurō," she said, her voice calm with banked anger. "Like I said. Mr. Hyūga was just leaving."

"I am," Neji leveled a challenging stare to Kankurō before side stepping him to hand his card to the woman.

"But I will be back," he said softly, holding it out between two fingers. "Count on it."

Her hazel eyes gave away nothing, and she held his stare for a solid twenty seconds before plucking the card from his fingers and tearing it in half.

"Is that wise?" he asked, easily as it fluttered to the ground between them.

"Goodbye, Mr. Hyūga," she returned evenly.

Neji gave another elegant shrug, and headed for the door. The licensing certificates caught his eye, specifically the ones for the mechanics behind him. Kankurō looked cocky and defiant in his picture but she…she looked happy. Playful. The picture was so incongruous with the woman behind him that it gave him pause.

He turned to look at them both.

Kankurō was just behind her, still an intimidating figure.

She stood defiantly, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, jaw unyielding.

He couldn't help but appreciate the beauty in her fury.

"Until next time, Tenten," he inclined his head.

She said nothing in return.

He could feel her eyes on him, boring into his back and skull even as he drove away.

"I will be back," he said, flicking eyes to the rearview mirror.

A slow, smug smile crossed his face.

He was looking forward to it.

He checked the address again.

The number spray-painted on the cracked, uneven curb matched the one hastily scrawled on the whisky-splattered cocktail napkin.

"So this is it," he murmured, taking it all in.

The garage wasn't in the best area of town, which he supposed shouldn't surprise him.

He'd heard that the owner had fallen on hard times.

That was about all the man at the bar had told him; that and that he'd find the answer to his problems here. He wasn't even sure if he was supposed to be looking for the owner or someone who worked here, but he was told to go early and to go alone.

He pulled his car over and parked, noting that despite the location, the grounds and building were well maintained, and there was an air of dependability in the aging neighborhood

He picked his way over the broken sidewalk, pausing to listen.

The whir of machinery trickled out into the early light, as well as the faint strains of classic rock crackling through an old radio.

The sign on the door was flipped to 'closed,' but the doors to the main garage were open.

He strode in, and a pleasant chime rang in the building.

"Hold on!" a muffled voice came up from under a battered truck. "Be right out."

The squeak of wheels and a clatter of a wrench being tossed in a tool-box later, a figure in coveralls emerged.

"We aren't open yet," the cheerful greeting came closer, "is there something I can do for..,Oh." The tone went flat. "Never mind."

Pearlescent eyes locked with hazel as she stared him down, hands on hips.

"We're closed," she said coolly, before turning on her heel and striding back into the garage.

"I can see that," he returned sardonically, looking around the empty-but-for-her shop. "It's a wonder you even bother opening."

"I don't," she smiled, all steel-barbed honey. "At least not for you or anyone in your clan. Don't know how you found your way here, but you can find yourself back to wherever you came from."

She yanked down the zipper of her coveralls and shrugged out of the top half before tying the sleeves around her waist.

Her cheek had a streak of dirt that read like warpaint in the defiance of her features. Her black athletic tanktop hugged a solid core and revealed, taut, well-muscled arms. She turned an equally muscled and strong back to him and went over to a work bench and began scribbling rapidly on a clipboard. Her entire posture screamed that she could be tipped to hostile faster than he could count the two buns on the top of her head. All of this might have served as a warning to a sensible man.

He wasn't feeling particularly sensible.

"That is a pretty decided attitude to have about someone you've never met," he said idly, "Aren't you even curious about why I am here?"

"No," she said curtly. "And I don't need to meet anyone else from your clan, thank you very much."

"Neji," he supplied, much to her annoyance and his amusement. "Hyūga Neji, but I believe you deduced that."

"Fine," she flicked through the pages on her clipboard. "Goodbye, Neji. Door's that way," she jerked her thumb at the open garage door behind him.

There was something in the pertness of her eyes and mouth that told him she was indeed curious – by nature if not by incident – no matter what she said to the contrary.

He wandered into the garage while she pointedly ignored him.

"What is that over there?" he asked, pointing.

"Unless you are looking at the exit," she said, distracted by the figures she was comparing, "Then it's none of your concern."

She was so absorbed in what she was doing, she thought he might have left.

Until she heard the _fwhoop_ ' of fabric being flicked back and the dull thud of canvas hitting the floor.

"Ahh," the sound of enlightenment was muffled. "So that's where it got to."

She dropped everything and stalked over to where he stood, hands on hips, eyeing the beautiful vehicle that had been hidden under the unassuming cover.

It was sleek and fast and jet black with two green stripes running up the hood, over the roof, and down the back.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she shoved past him to get the cover off of the floor and back onto the vehicle.

"Who me?" he tried a door and found it to be unlocked. "Nothing. I'm not even here." He slid into the passenger seat and looked around the car with appreciation.

"Green interior," he noted. "So this really is the Springtime of Youth."

"Get your ass out of that car," she seethed, hands fisted in the fabric, probably to keep from throttling him.

"Or you'll what," he turned a smug look at her.

"Hard to say," she narrowed her eyes. "I have lots of things I'd love to do the people who took everything from the people I love – none of which are pleasant, and plenty of which would ruin the interior."

"And who are you, exactly?" he asked breezily. "How are you tied into all of this?" he motioned to the garage and the car.

"You came here," she crossed her arms. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I came here," he pulled the napkin out of his breast pocket, "because I was told if I came, I'd find what I was looking for."

"Whatever you think you came here to find, it isn't here," she bit back. "So get the hell out."

"I think it is," he leaned back in the seat and drummed fingers on folded arms. "This car has clearly been maintained. I am guessing that you also service the engine?" he raised his eyebrows in question. She offered a hard stare in return.

"I think I'm right," he said pleasantly. "And I think that once you hear why I am here, and what I came to offer, you will jump at the chance to work with me."

Her eyes went so wide and so round, he thought she might harm herself.

"Oh, I've got to hear this," she muttered, folding the cover over her arm and putting it carefully on a nearby bench. She shifted her weight to one hip and stared him down. "I'm looking forward to the pleasure of shooting you down."

"We'll see," Neji smiled, congratulating himself on having snagged her attention. "We are sponsoring a driver in the Konoha Grand Prix. I need someone to head up the engineering and mechanic team, and if I don't miss my guess, you're the person for the job."

"Is that all?" She scoffed. "Well that was fast. Sorry. No deal."

"Oh, I think you'll reconsider when you hear who we've hired to drive for us," he flicked an invisible fleck of something off of his trouser leg and onto the garage floor.

"Doubt it."

"Are you familiar with the name Rock Lee?"

She looked as if her world slipped a timing belt, sending her engine clattering into chaos.

"Lee," she breathed in astonishment. "No, he… he can't – he wouldn't – I don't believe you," she shook her head. "Besides – he is a Formula One racer now; he isn't available for general contracts and he certainly wouldn't risk his standing by entering into a race that isn't a part of his circuit."

"It is a showcase year, and we have turned the event into a charity one," Neji's smile was meant to goad her. "It took some negotiation, but the Formula One racers have been allowed to participate. And I hardly need to tell you that your friend is one of the best drivers available."

"He promised," she said, throat tight. "He promised Gai-sensei he wouldn't run this race – not anymore. Not since-"

"Since the fiasco that ended his teacher's career?" Neji arched an eyebrow. "I don't see how you can blame the race for the incompetence of its drivers."

Her face paled and then flushed angrily.

Her eyes glittered dangerously.

"Get out of here," she growled. "You know NOTHING."

"I know that Lee is having a terrible time adjusting to our car," Neji frowned. "He almost crashed twice at practice last week."

"It's his reflexes," she said automatically.

"Pity," Neji sneered. "Guess we need someone better."

"There is no one better," she spat back. "His reflexes are too damned fast," she continued. "Chances are your shitty transmission can't keep up with him; he needs something custom that you can't possibly-

"We can't replicate," he finished. "You are exactly right. No matter how hard we try," he shrugged. "We can't seem to do it. We tried to find the person who built your mentor's car, but to no avail."

"Wouldn't do you any good," she laughed bitterly. "He's impossible to find, and he wouldn't help you. Even for Lee. Besides he-" she bit off the rest of her sentence.

"He didn't design or build Lee's current car," Neji finished for her. "You did."

"What makes you think that?" she snapped.

"Oh, I don't think," the gleam in his eyes was predatory. "I know."

"How?" she demanded.

"Let's just say it's enough that I know," he spread his hands elegantly. "Just like you know that particular car can't be entered in this race, and I know that Rock Lee will race with or without your help. His chances of coming out unscathed will improve exponentially if you cooperate."

Her jaw was tight.

"Hey boss," a voice echoed from the other side of the garage. "Sorry I'm late – Family's still visiting. So what are we-."

He stopped abruptly when he spotted them.

Neji was still in the passenger seat of the car, and she looked like she might kill him.

The mechanic looked between them, and his manner abruptly shifted, his voice hard.

"What's going on, Morino?"

She never broke eye contact with Neji.

"Nothing, Kankurō," she said, steel threading her words. "Mr. Hyūga here was just leaving."

"Hyūga?" he asked, eyes darting between the two of them, his body language clearly reading 'oh, fuck.'

Neji tipped his head, studying the two of them, idly noting the animosity was rolling off of her in waves.

He slipped out of the car, thinking.

_Morino._

_Morino_.

The name rolled in his head, and he conjured up the image of a large man – a powerful man – but he wasn't connected to the racing world.

Then he remembered.

"Morino," he said looking her over, realization dawning on him.

There had been a driver with that name. An up and coming driver that had made quite a name for himself on the amateur circuit, who died in suspicious circumstances shortly after joining the professionals.

He had been a Morino.

Morino Idate.

Neji noted the raw note in her anger, and made the last connection.

Idate was estranged from his brother, Ibiki, and had no other siblings. This woman then…

"You're Idate's widow," he said, the puzzle falling into place.

Her spine went solid iron, and Kankurō crossed to stand next to her. He was a solidly built man – burly with shaggy brown hair and dark, menacing eyes.

The electricity that buzzed between them all was volatile.

Neji closed the door of the retired vehicle with care that bordered on reverence.

"Then, you more than anyone should want to make sure that our driver stays safe," he said quietly, and he felt a twinge of guilt knowing that this was the angle that would secure his triumph.

He stepped away from the car, slowly reaching into his breast pocket. Kankurō's eyes narrowed and he immediately stepped between them.

Neji arched an eyebrow and flicked out a business card.

"It's alright, Kankurō," she said, her voice calm with banked anger. "Like I said. Mr. Hyūga was just leaving."

"I am," Neji leveled a challenging stare to Kankurō before side stepping him to hand his card to the woman.

"But I will be back," he said softly, holding it out between two fingers. "Count on it."

Her hazel eyes gave away nothing, and she held his stare for a solid twenty seconds before plucking the card from his fingers and tearing it in half.

"Is that wise?" he asked, easily as it fluttered to the ground between them.

"Goodbye, Mr. Hyūga," she returned evenly.

Neji gave another elegant shrug, and headed for the door. The licensing certificates caught his eye, specifically the ones for the mechanics behind him. Kankurō looked cocky and defiant in his picture but she…she looked happy. Playful. The picture was so incongruous with the woman behind him that it gave him pause.

He turned to look at them both.

Kankurō was just behind her, still an intimidating figure.

She stood defiantly, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, jaw unyielding.

He couldn't help but appreciate the beauty in her fury.

"Until next time, Tenten," he inclined his head.

She said nothing in return.

He could feel her eyes on him, boring into his back and skull even as he drove away.

"I will be back," he said, flicking eyes to the rearview mirror.

A slow, smug smile crossed his face.

He was looking forward to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just have to write cocky, jerk Neji (with a touch of humanity.) I might have to come back to this one. Thoughts?
> 
> Fact: One of the versions I wrote of Force Majeure had Tenten as an airforce mechanic, and the widow to pilot Morino Idate.


	8. Shall We Dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji accompanies his Father and Uncle because he was told it was a business matter. So why are they watching the couple in green dance the night away?

 

* * *

**Shall We Dance?**

* * *

They watched the crowd as they danced the night away.

"Is that them?" Hiashi asked.

"The couple in green," Hizashi nodded.

"They look pretty good," Hiashi allowed. "But do you think they are up to it?"

"Have I ever steered you wrong," his twin brother asked laconically. He looked to the attendant nearest to him. He tipped his glass toward the dance floor, the ice cubes clinking in what little scotch remained. "Tell them to put on a swing number."

"Is this really necessary, Uncle? Father?" Neji asked, bored. "It is a charity event, not a competition."

"Everything is a competition," Hizashi said with a dangerous smile. "Especially when it is our company versus Uchihia's. It isn't just about who raises the most money, son. The company sponsoring the winning couple gets a leg up on advertising and future business in a big way."

"So what do we know about them?" Hiashi asked, flipping open a file. "Seems they were quite popular on the marathon circuit for a while."

Neji looked over his shoulder at the numerous newspaper clippings. "Quite the little press darlings, weren't they?" he drawled. "But it seems they have trouble keeping their story straight. Here," he takes a page from his uncle, "they are a couple of farm kids from Nebraska, but in this paper from Nebraska they are from New York City… here they are small town sweethearts…here they are - oh I love this – 'dancing away their wedding night.' And it seems they have some dance floor drama to follow each scenario."

"Those stories are all made by the emcee of the event and the press," Hizashi said. "Brings people in; they love the promise of a good drama."

"So who are they really?"

"They are the real deal," a man cut in, shifting a long toothpick in his mouth as he handed Hizashi a fresh drink. "That's all you need to know."

"Ah, Genma," Hiashi looked up calmly. "So glad you could join us."

"So," he took the toothpick out and studied it. "Sold yet?"

"Perhaps," Hiashi nodded back to the material. "Demonstration pending."

The band begin to pick up, and the first strains of 'Sing, Sing, Sing' filled the air.

"If you're not sold after this," Genma nodded to the dance floor, "then you aren't a serious buyer."

The dancers changed; some left the floor, some joined, others went to the middle, and couple in green went to work.

The dance before had been up-tempo but hardly a challenge.

This?

This was acrobatic.

Neji had never cared much for swing dancing; it was too raw – too ugly for him. It bordered on being to self-indulgent; obvious with no class.

But he'd never seen it done like this.

The man in green picked up his brunette partner to swing her around and toss her in the air. He flipped her over him, swung her through his legs, launched her to flip acrobatically ahead of him – they did all manner of tricks, each more daring than the last. The crowd loved it, and despite being swung about, she moved with an athletic grace that made it appear effortless. Her dancing dress was part costume, and her matching bloomers flashed as her skirt flew around her long, lean legs. They even switched partners for a few moves, laughing and bringing others into the fun.

Hiashi watched shrewdly as the audience and other dancers went wild with applause and cheers.

"And they can keep up this pace?"

"All night," Genma laughed. "You won't find another couple anywhere with their type of stamina. We've actually had charities ask them _not_ to come to certain events because they kept winning. They can certainly withstand your measly 24-hour dance-off."

"Impressive," Hizashi glanced over to his son, who was watching the dancers. He smiled into his scotch. "What do you think, son?"

"Entertaining," he allowed, even as the song ended and the dancers rearranged themselves. "But the competition calls for at least three classic dances, and two partner switches – one with one of the sponsors," he looked to his father. "Can they do more than flashy acrobatics?"

"What do you say, Genma?" Hizashi slid a smile to the other man.

"I say that if your kid has any doubts, he can go see for himself," Genma snorted. He signaled one of the waitresses to join them in the private box. "Take Young Master Hyūga down to the dancefloor," he instructed. "Tell the Emcee and the band to pull out a Winter Strauss."

"Sure thing, Mr. Shiranui!" she chirped, and looked over to Neji expectantly.

Neji gave Genma a cold look, but did not back away from the challenge.

The young girl kept peeking over her shoulder at him, clearly appreciating what she saw.

He did not respond.

He was young, wealthy, clever, and handsome.

He was used to it.

She led him to the front row, and motioned for him to take a seat.

"Just here, Mr. Hyūga," she said brightly before scampering away to the bandstand.

Neji sat back in is seat and idly surveyed the dance floor.

Why on earth was he down here?

What could he possibly see from this angle that couldn't be better seen from the box that overlooked the dancefloor?

The last number ended, and the dancers and audience clapped.

The music began again, but this time it was a waltz.

As athletic and electric as couple in green had been earlier, they were now poised and graceful. They glided across the floor, the man providing strong and solid support for his fluid partner. They added spins and turns, making the dance impossibly beautiful.

"Alright, kids," the Emcee announced. "Snowball!"

Neji quirked an eyebrow. So that is what they meant by a 'Winter Strauss.'

He watched as the dancers split apart and changed partners, pulling from the attendees.

The girl from earlier caught the dancers in green before they split. They listened to her hurried whispers, before nodding to one another.

Then,

Much to Neji's discomfort

The woman strode over to him.

Despite all of the activity, she was not disheveled or sweaty.

She glowed with the radiance of someone who is doing something they love.

"Mr. Hyūga, is it?" she asked, hazel eyes snapping merrily in a pretty face. "I hear you may be sponsoring us in the charity dance."

He gave a small inclination of his head

"It is a possibility, yes."

A smirk pulled at her lips.

"And do we meet with your approval?"

"What makes you think I'm here to give my approval?" he asked.

"Why else would you have left the box to sit in the front row of the dancefloor?" she laughed lightly.

He didn't answer, but a faint smile played about his lips.

"I'll give you a tip," she said gamely, lowering her voice and tucking her skirt under her as she sat down next to him. "I know the team that the Uchiha's are sponsoring. They are very good."

"Oh?" he arched an eyebrow, turning in his seat to face her.

"Mm," she hummed, looking back over the dance floor and then back to him. "Naruto and Sakura. Powerhouse of a dance couple. Naruto is the only other person I've ever seen keep up with Lee when it comes to stamina, and Sakura is small but strong as all get out."

"How do you know this?" he studied her.

"The dance circuit isn't that big," she shrugged. "Word gets around."

"Interesting," Neji mused. "And how does this information benefit me?"

"There's only one couple around that can compete against Naruto and Sakura," she grinned wickedly. "And you're talking to half of it."

Her smile was contagious.

"Am I, now?"

"Yes," she said frankly. "We – me and Lee - are your only hope of winning, and that is the truth."

"What makes you so certain?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"This is what I love to do," she motioned to everything around them, "but it is also my livelihood. I _have_ to be certain about these kinds of things. Knowing the competition is critical."

"Indeed it is."

"I take it you are a man who likes to win?" she asked.

"That is a fair statement," he responded.

"Well, I am a woman who hates to lose," she held out her hand. "So is it a deal, Mr. Hyūga?"

He might have refused, but he saw Genma leaning over the rail of the box, watching him in challenge.

He stood to take her hand.

Something electric shot up his arm and into his chest as she rose to her feet, and he couldn't say if she had felt it or not.

"Your name?" he asked, less gracefully than he might have.

She smiled.

"Tenten."

"Alright then, Tenten," he said smoothly, leading her onto the dance floor and into waltz position.

"Shall we dance?"

He settled his hand on the curve of her waist, and she settled her arm on his shoulder.

Her eyes sparked with a curious mix of determination and mischief.

"Let's."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sing, Sing, Sing,' came out in 1936; Lee and Tenten were doing a fancy variation on the Lindy Hop. Genma isn't a coach to any of the teams; he is someone who finds people. Naruto and Sakura are childhood friends and affiliated with Kakashi. Lee and Tenten are coached by Gai.
> 
> Dance marathons were big in the 20's, 30's, and 40's. They were particularly popular in the depression era USA, when the prize money was desperately needed. Some of these marathons went days, weeks, months! Dancers would have to move around the clock, and would dance while eating, shaving, etc. They got small breaks to rest - as in maybe 10-20 minutes to sleep, and then back on their feet. The rules were that you had to be on your feet and moving; you couldn't be asleep. Partners would literally hold each other up. People working the event would help to move the dancers around and keep them awake. Some of the dancers did eventually have sponsors, and the Emcee's would conjure up stories about the dancers to bring in the audiences. People would pay a nominal fee to come and watch/cheer for their favorite dancers. It could be a grueling event - there were recorded cases of extreme exhaustion resulting in hospitalization, or even death.
> 
> There are still charities that do 24 hour dance-offs. . I had a great time researching the dance marathons; take a second and hit google and youtube; you won't be disappointed!
> 
> I haven't decided if/when I'll pick this story back up, and when I will set it if/when I do. Thoughts?


	9. Camellias

_Based on a headcanon by phoenixmiko on Tumblr_

* * *

**Shades of Konoha: Dragon and Phoenix  
Camellias**

* * *

She saw the camellia mixed in with the other flowers at Neji's funeral, but did not see who had placed it.

Hinata took note first of the pink, because it stood out among the lilies and roses. She noted the white camellia after.

It was a tragically beautiful snapshot, and her mind took the picture and filed it away with the memories that stay in the heart. She did not think of it, until that morning she went to tend to his grave.

Another camellia, fresh and bright and pink rested on the marker, yet not even the dew had been disturbed. Hinata looked around, wondering if she had interrupted anyone, but deciding against using her Byakugan.

No matter how early she visited the grave, the flower was waiting.

One morning there were seven blooms – three white, three pink, and one yellow. The following morning, there were no flowers, nor the morning after that. Hinata thought it strange, but hoped perhaps this meant that whoever had been leaving the blossoms had come to some kind of closure, and left the weight of their heart with those seven camellias.

But then, one morning, a white camellia greeted her.

She counted back.

It had been seven days.

And her heart broke a little more for the soul that mourned her cousin, just as she did.

But it was not in Hinata's nature to be nosy. Growing up in a clan that could, literally, see everything for miles, she had been instilled with a high regard for the privacy of others. Therefore it was completely by accident that she stumbled upon the truth.

The morning mist was dense on the cool autumn morning three years to the day from Neji's sacrifice.

She came earlier than usual, because she had to leave at dawn for a mission, and was navigating the wan light and heavy fog with her Byakugan.

She stopped when the muffled sobs reached her ears, for fear of intruding on the grief of another. She quickly adopted the invisibility that her own unobtrusive nature had afforded her, and suppressed all of her chakra.

Her hearing was not nearly as sharp as Kiba's, but he had taught her how to listen, and she instantly locked on to the occasional gasp for air. She wondered if she should comfort this person, or let her presence be known?

Perhaps it was a friend. Ino had lost her father on this day – what if it was her?

Hinata allowed herself to locate the source of the heartbroken cries, and felt her own heart begin to break in kind.

Kneeling at Neji's grave, heedless of the dew clinging to her, or the earth dusting her knees, she sat on her heels and wept.

Her chest and shoulders reverberated with the effort of containing the sobs that wracked her body – hands pressed to her eyes, doing nothing to stem the tears that fell continuously and without mercy.

"Not a day goes by," she whispered.

"Not a day that I do not miss you. Not a day that I do not ache for you. I try to honor the life you lived, and smile, Neji, but today..?"

She trailed off and shook her head.

…Today I can't. "

Her breath shuddered and hung in the air.

"Today I am lonely and lost and cold."

She brushed gentle fingertips across his name, and the swirl of the Konoha emblem.

"Today I mourn your loss," she whispered. "But I promise. I'll be stronger tomorrow."

She fell silent as she pressed a kiss to the camellia, and laid it reverently on the stone.

It was several heartbeats before she knelt and touched her forehead to the stone.

"I shall love you, always."

And with that, she wiped away her tears, rose to her feet, and strode into the mists.

Hinata waited no less than ten minutes before approaching her cousin's grave, allowing the gravity of the grief and sorrow she had witnessed to sift down through the water-laden air and settle into the dew on the grass.

When it was her turn to pay her respects, she knelt delicately, as if afraid of breaking spidersilk.

The flowers she laid were from their gardens, and she knew each bloom by name and what it meant.

That is why she was so careful not to disturb the single blossom with the teardrops on its petals.

She left as silently as she had come, and kept the secret of what she had seen close to her heart.

It was the least she could do for the person who held what was left of Neji's heart.

* * *

_Naturally, it was Tenten_  
_white camelia: Waiting_  
_yellow camelia: longing_  
_pink camelia: longing for you/romantic love_

_phoenixmiko dot tumblr dot com/post/131110321249/headcanon-the-flowers-that-tenten-normally-lays_


	10. Classified

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't watched the wonderful video of Patrick Stewart talking about his charities for abused women and soldiers with PTSD in honor of his mother and his father, please do. It is brilliant and heartwarming and nakedly honest. 
> 
> This story is the result of several very in depth conversations with multigenerational viewpoints on life after war. As such, it is, perhaps, a little rawer than the things I have submitted up until now. 
> 
> It all began with several random, unrelated discussions with both friends and family.
> 
> One person shared stories of friends that did and didn't come back from Vietnam, and the one that did that would dive to the ground when he heard a car backfire. One discussed the father of a friend that suffered flashbacks from his time in Okinawa. Because of this the family - particularly the friend's mother - had to take certain precautions. No war programs on TV. No going to fireworks. Carefully monitored noise levels. Anyone staying with the family had to be asked to avoid certain actions. There were times she would send the children out of the home and to the neighbors, because the father was entering a flashback, and could have inadvertently harmed them. There was that terrible year spent waiting, knowing our friend could be deployed at any minute, and how on edge her husband was every time she had to go away for training for months at a time.
> 
> "Classified" addresses the sensitive issue of PTSD as well as abuse. I want to make it very clear before putting this story out there that acknowledging the difficulties of life with someone struggling of PTSD is not the same as romanticizing or condoning any potential/resulting abuse of the people that care for them. In no way is this an attempt to make a hero or a villain out of either party. Also, as it is a short story, it does not and cannot fully explore all of the intricacies and facets of these subjects, and I make no attempt to. This is a snapshot of a few hours in the lives of these characters; that is all.
> 
> This story is written and submitted with respect to all lives touched by the aftermath of war.

 

* * *

**Classified**

* * *

It is at the end of a long shift when he enters the triage room to find her waiting there.

She is sitting on the edge of narrow hospital bed and looks up, bored. She is wearing a hospital gown and despite being bloodied, her clothes are folded and piled neatly on a chair in the corner.

"Hey," she gives a half wave.

Nonchalant for someone with a bloody bandage patched on her forehead and an icepack pressed to her bottom lip.

He looks down at the patient's file.

"Ms... Morino?"

She gives him a nod, pulling the icepack away from her mouth and absently checking the paper towel covering it for blood.

"That's me."

"What happened here tonight?" he holds out his hand for the icepack.

"Bit of a tussle," she hands over the bag, revealing a fat, mildly split lip, and bruising. "A few scrapes and bruises. Unfortunate collision with the edge of a coffee table. Looks worse than it is."

He eyes her chart, eyebrows lifting as he reads.

"I understand you not only drove, but you also brought in another patient?"

"Yeah, but we've got rides lined up."

"Good, because driving probably isn't a prudent course of action."

He checks her eyes with a flashlight, and has her look up and down.

"Military?" he asks, nodding to the swirled tattoo on her arm.

"Mm," she hums, as he is very close to her face and checking her pupils.

"Definitely a concussion," he says clinically.

"Yeah," she shrugs again. "Not my first."

The doctor's eyebrows lift. "And yet you drove?"

"Couldn't wait for a ride."

She holds his gaze unflinchingly.

The nurse opens the door again and shoots her a nervous look before approaching the physician.

"Dr. Hyūga, may I have word please?"

"Excuse me," he nods to his patient, who makes no move to comment.

He returns a few moments later, his face pinched. He clears his throat. "Normally Dr. Haruno handles these cases, but she is in surgery right now."

She quirks an eyebrow. "These cases?"

"Evidence of prior breaks and concussions, bruising at the arms and throat, obvious signs of struggle and a fight... " he iterates.

"And I've just been informed that the other patient that arrived with looking as if he has been in a brawl is, in fact, your husband. When did he attack you?"

A dangerous smile tugs at just one corner of her mouth.

"How do you know I didn't attack him?"

"Because you brought him, and not the other way around," he scoffs. "Mrs. Morino, is your husband beating you?" he asks, bluntly. "Because there are resources for abused-"

"I am not an abused spouse," she returns, and he is shocked to find notes of amusement threaded in her weary voice.

"But you don't deny that your husband gave you these marks?" he presses, vaguely registering an unfamiliar ire coiling in his spine – whether it is for her situation or her dismissal of it, he cannot say.

"No," she shakes her head. "I don't deny it."

"Then, are you aware that dangerous foreplay such as choking can lead to-"

She bursts out laughing.

"You think Idate did this to get off on choking me?" she asks incredulously. "You must see some real fucked up shit to think that -."

"Mrs. Morino," he addresses her firmly. "Clearly you are too close to the situation to fully grasp-"

"Doctor Hyūga," she interrupts, mimicking his lecturing tone. "I am trained military personnel of the ilk that I can't _actually_ tell you what I do. I earned junior titles in taijutsu and boxing when I was twelve, and have been competing ever since. Most of your evidence is from those activities. Yes, Idate did put hands on me tonight - and I'm the reason he was unconscious when he arrived here."

"Being able to defend yourself does not mean it is excusable for your husband to attack you," the doctor counters, feeling his customary calm crack in irritation.

"He didn't attack _me_ ," she insists. "He has PTSD, Doctor Hyūga, and he was attacking someone he thought was a Suna Insurgent."

He holds her gaze, and although she does not back down, and her chin remains stubborn, there is exhaustion in the tightness of her eyes from battles long fought against ghosts that are not her own.

They stare at one another, and his voice, although low, is damning in its quiet.

"Does this happen often?"

"Not to this level," she flicks her eyes to the cut on her head. "Some kids lit off fireworks near the house tonight. Sparked a flashback."

Neji holds his tongue, gauging his opponent.

Something shifts in the air, and the residual hostility between them evaporates. He is clinical and direct.

"That cut will need stitching."

She takes it as a soldier receiving an order, and lies back on the bed.

A nurse joins to assist him while another shuttles back and forth to bring him questions, concerns, and news from the ER.

He examines the neat stitches that bisect her eyebrow before dismissing the nurse, and wrapping the wound himself. He does another examination of her lip, but decides it does not need to be stitched; it is not as severe as it looked when she arrived.

"What do you hear about Idate?"

The request is low, and had he not been watching her lips, he might not have realized she had said anything at all.

"Your husband is fine," his voice is emotionless and low. "Sedated. They called in his doctor from the VA."

"Thanks," she says, not blinking, staring straight at the ceiling.

"Do you keep loaded weapons in the house?"

The question is not wholly unexpected, even if the timing is.

"Not where he can get to them," she replies, still not looking at him.

"Are you certain of that?"

"I am."

The doctor takes in a deep breath and lets it out on a slow exhale.

She waits.

"You are strong," he finally ventures, flicking his eyes over the well-muscled arms. "But it could be a fatal mistake to overestimate that strength."

After several moments of making no indication that she heard him, she finally mutters a sullen "Noted."

"You can dress," he turns his back to her. The nurse scurries in again, motioning for him to join her closer to the door.

"A Mr. Lee is here to see the patient," her voice is hushed. "He is listed as her emergency contact."

"He can come in," she calls from behind them, having already tugged her jeans on under her hospital gown.

"That is fine," the Doctor speaks to the nurse as she pulls the hospital gown off and pulls a tanktop on.

The nurse bustles out, and he turns to say something else to his patient, but a blur of green bursts into the room.

"Tenten! What happened - what did he do to you - did he-?!"

"It's ok, Lee," she soothes. "I'm alright." She holds out her hand for the bag he carries, and he hands it over quickly. She fishes out a longsleeved shirt and sweater before putting her bloodied t-shirt and hoodie in the bag.

"Another attack?" his eyes are wide in trepidation, his voice mournful.

"Yeah," she sighs pulling the shirt over the tanktop, "But I handled it."

She's just gotten the soft sweater over her head when the attending physician clears his throat.

"If you are ready," Doctor Hyūga eyes them with a professional coolness. "I'll take you to him."

She slides toward the edge of the bed to stand, but her progress is halted by the nurse scurrying over with a wheelchair.

She glares up at him, and he is absolutely unmoved.

"Hospital policy," his voice remains detached. "You are still concussed, and cannot be allowed to walk on your own."

She glares at him, but does not argue. Lee is quick to shoulder her bag with her bloodied clothes and insert himself behind her wheelchair.

The doctor motions for them to follow, but is gracious enough to hold open the door for them.

The patient listed as Morino Idate is heavily sedated and resting in a hospital bed. There is an absolute bear of a man standing over the figure, arms crossed. The patch on his military uniform reads "Morino."

Too young to be a father or uncle, the doctor guesses him to be brother to the injured man.

He passes a critical eye over the other patient.

"So," his voice deep, and authoritative. "It happened again."

"I can handle it, Ibiki," her eyes fix on the man in the bed, and she reaches a hand to brush away his hair from his forehead.

"Clearly," the bigger man continues, with little to no inflection. "You two are coming back with me tonight," he states, leaving no room for argument. "He is going to be argumentative when he wakes up, and you are in no condition to handle him on your own."

"We've been over this," she crosses her arms. "I'm perfectly capable of-

"Actually," Dr. Hyūga chimes in. "In your condition you should not be tending to an unstable patient. Or any patient for that matter," he adds when her eyes take on a murderous glint at the word 'unstable.'

"That unstable patient," she grits out "is my husband."

"And it didn't stop him from attacking his wife," the doctor retorts blandly.

"I need some air," Tenten huffs pushing out of the wheelchair. "Stay with him, Lee," she instructs her friend before storming out of the room.

"Mrs. Morino, wait!"

"Tenten, wait!"

Lee and the nurse chime, as the nurse hurries after her. Lee tries to follow, but halts at Ibiki's soft command.

"Leave it, Lee," he watches the door swing closed behind the nurse. "She knows her limits, and she needs the space."

"That isn't wise," Dr. Huyga frowns. "She could-"

"With all due respect," Ibiki interrupts, "your protocol doesn't account for the needs or abilities of my soldier."

"She isn't your sister-in-law?" he asks.

"She is a member of my unit first," Ibiki crosses massive arms over an equally massive chest. "And this," he motions to Idate and the hospital room, "is nothing she hasn't seen or can't handle. She will be back shortly."

"How can you be so sure?"

"She hates to be cold," he says with the faintest hint of a smirk. "She'll get some air, clear her head, and come back in."

"Should I bring her her coat?" Lee looks at the door, dubiously.

"No," Ibiki shakes his head. "Let her be. The doctor here has a point; she shouldn't be running around with a concussion. She's levelheaded – she'll figure it out."

His features softened minutely. "She'll be okay, Lee," he rests a heavy hand on Lee's shoulder. "I'll go make the arrangements to have them discharged into my care."

With that, Ibiki disappears down the hall, going the opposite direction of Tenten.

Lee gives a heavy sigh before looking over to the doctor.

"Thanks for trying," he gives a resigned smile. "You're not the first."

"Well, she isn't the first abused spouse I've seen not understand her situation," he mutters.

Lee is thoughtful. "She understands it better than you think," he says cryptically. "She isn't being foolhardy, you know," he continues. "Idate is in counselling and has medication. On top of that, she is an elite combat specialist. She can normally subdue Idate before anything happens - not that this happens often," he is hasty to add.

The doctor arches a suspicious eyebrow "Oh?"

"Tenten's situation is," Lee searches for a word before settling on "Complicated." He looks over Idate before giving the doctor a small smile. "Anyway. Thanks for trying."

Annoyed or not, the doctor can't let his patient roam unattended.

He finds her just outside the back employee entrance, standing with her arms crossed. Her breath hangs heavy in the air as she mutters to herself.

"Times like this I wish I smoked."

"Nasty habit," he offers. She turns around sharply.

"Now you're following me to give me medical advice?" her eyes snap, and her tone is brittle.

"No," he shakes his head. "Now I am following you to apologize."

She sweeps skeptical eyes over him. "I'm listening."

"Countless women come through here," he begins, clasping his hands behind his back. "They are afraid. They are victims. They defend their attackers. And the injuries sustained when "he didn't mean to" are no less severe than if inflicted intentionally. I am...desensitized to what I know to be a vicious cycle. I do not believe in exceptions." His small smile is self-deprecating. "There is a reason that Dr. Haruno usually handles these conversations."

"You are pretty shitty at them," she agrees bluntly.

"And you are no better at listening to reason," he shrugs. "Tenten, was it?"

"Yeah."

"Neji."

Her bark of laughter is short.

"And I'm guessing, _Neji_ , that even after offering this apology, you aren't wholly convinced that my situation is indeed an exception, are you?"

"No," he agrees. "I am not."

She gives a grunt of understanding and looks back up to the stars. She exhales a large cloud of frustration and closes her eyes to refocus. When she opens them again, there is weariness in the lines of her posture.

"You could argue a case for abuse," she says, surprising him with her frankness. "But I'm no victim. Idate won't remember most of what happened tonight, but I will tell him. So will his brother – that was the big guy in the room. And I won't skip the part where he gave me a concussion or where I cold cocked him across the jaw."

She gives a heavy sigh as she toes some slush on the ground. "And it isn't just because I'm married to him. The truth is we were in the process of filing for divorce before his last deployment."

Neji arches an eyebrow but offers nothing more than: "Oh?"

"It wasn't contentious," she lifts one shoulder. "We got married when we were eighteen. We did it because we were young and stupid and wanted to make sure we were stationed together. Didn't take long for us to realize that wasn't our best idea. We decided to put everything on hold until he got back."

"And…now that he's back?"

"Now I'm still going to take care of him," she says firmly, "because I was his friend and his partner long before anyone put labels or licenses behind it. Besides – I'm all he really has right now. As his wife, I get paid leave to take care of him; something his brother isn't free to take right now."

"But when it is all over?" Neji asks.

"Don't know," she repeats the one-shouldered shrug. "I doubt that much has changed. We'll stay in each other's lives, but I don't know if we'll stay married." She gives him a rueful look. "That's kind of the least of my worries these days."

"I hope your personal safety ranks up there somewhere," Neji mutters.

"It does," she replies with mild amusement.

"And you keep fire arms in your home?" he asks suddenly.

She blinks.

"Of course," she says. "I have to."

"Loaded?" he presses.

She stares at him like he is asking her the most inane, obvious thing in the world, and then realization spreads over her features.

"Sorry," she chuckles, "the concussion must be making me slow on the uptake. I have to have firearms for my job. They are stored appropriately, and only I have the combination to the safe. I moved my more serious equipment to Ibiki's safe when Idate first came home. I… may or may not have a tranq gun available," she says slowly. "And I may or may not keep that loaded and hidden."

"That may or may not be a terrible idea," he responds flatly.

"It would be if it were easy to find or predictably located," she agrees, "Or if he knew that I had it. But since it is only for emergencies and can't be accidentally accessed, I'll take my chances."

"You seem to be willing to take quite a few of them," Neji observes.

"Yeah, well," she gives a knowing laugh. "It's sort of my thing."

"Hn," he scoffs.

She gives him a long look. "I like you," she finally decides. "Your bedside manner is shit, but I don't have time for pleasantries. I'd rather someone be honest with me, even if they are being an asshole."

"Then I don't mind telling you that you are being reckless and cavalier," he replies evenly.

"You're probably right," her smile is small, and he hears something wistful in her tone. "But the fact remains – I'm all he's got."

She locks eyes with him, and when she speaks, he knows it is in absolute truths.

"I gave him my word. I can't…I won't go back on my word."

And for the first time, he is uncertain.

The lines around her eyes soften.

"It isn't your battle to fight, Neji," she says softly. "It's alright to walk away."

His moon-pale eyes are careful and hard to read in the low light.

She watches him with no visible curiosity – just an air of resignation.

He holds a hand out to her, and it takes a moment to see the thin white card between his fingers.

"Take it," he instructs. "In case you need help."

Her eyes narrow imperceptibly and the air around them cools by several degrees.

"I already have the information you gave me," she says with an edged politeness.

"I don't give out this information," he ignores the objection. "But perhaps…" his eyes trail over her, "perhaps it is time to believe in an exception."

She takes the card cautiously, finally breaking eye contact to look it over.

"You never know when it will be handy to know another insensitive asshole," he shrugs. "But at least a doctor is used to being on call."

And for the first time, a smile crawls across her swollen and beautiful lips.

With that, he clears his throat. "You need to return to your husband's room," he instructs. "I'll give you ten minutes before telling the nurse where to find you."

"That's fair. Thanks."

"You're welcome," he bows his head. "Forgive me, if I hope not to see you again – not under these circumstances."

A smile plays about her lips. It is bittersweet, because on some level they both know this won't be the last time they meet this way.

Still, the pretense of pleasantries between strangers is all that they have for now, and it is a forgiving sort of lie.

"Likewise."

He stops at the door, just long enough to look over his shoulder.

"Good luck, Tenten."

He is halfway back to triage when his mobile buzzes in his pocket.

The text is simple:

_'_ _Thanks, Neji.'_

And just like that he knows with a certainty that he has never had about anything.

When it comes to her…

…this is the closest he'll ever be to walking away.

* * *

_Thank you for reading_

_\- GL_


	11. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> War is full of sacrifices that break the heart.

* * *

**Shades of Konoha: Dragon and Phoenix  
** **Sacrifice**

* * *

He saw the thorns slicing the air, and knew Hinata would never beat them back. He crouched to leap between them, protecting them both, but felt himself jerked backward as something else flew forward.

And as he fell to the ground, he hoped it had been a trick of the lighting and that he hadn't seen what he thought he had seen.

The sickening sound of wood piercing flesh echoed ominously around him as blood splattered, warm on his face. He clutched his arm, sliced from a stray projectile, that left him otherwise unharmed.

He scrambled to his knees, eyes wild, blood dripping through his fingers. Immediately, his eyes sought out his cousin - still unharmed and standing defensively in front of Naruto.

Her eyes were wide and her face was flecked with blood and he followed her gaze to the figure suspended in front of her and Naruto …

The arms were still flung wide, the head thrown back. The back arched then collapsed with the impact of impalement.

A Sacrifce.

He felt his world slow to nothing.

Because it was not him that had taken the undoubtedly final blow.

It was her.

He scrambled to from knees to feet and stumbled over to her, just in time to catch her collapsing body.

Two gigantic thorns pierced through her, and the color had already drained from her face.

He called out for the medics.

"Tenten," he gasped, disbelief and despair raw in his throat. "Why?"

"Because," she gave an exasperated half-laugh. "You…you were about to die, you idiot," her eyes drifted slowly over to him. "I knew you'd try and do the noble-sacrifice-yourself thing."

"Why did you stop me," he harshed out – a broken sob barked rather than breathed.

"Because," her words were low on labored breath. "Because you've come so far… too far to stop. You are important in this fight, Neji. You have a destiny to change your clan - I believe Naruto will win," she gave a quick glance to the stricken and saddened man struggling to his feet with Hinata's help, "-and he will need you after the war." She tried to lift a hand, but couldn't, and settled for winding her fingers in his.

"No," he shook his head, "We need you - we – you can't-you belong-"

"My place," she interrupted, iron sealed in her words just as it had been in her scrolls, "has always been at your back. You have others at your side now," she met Naruto's eyes over Neji's head. Both he and Hinata gave her solemn nods.

With her last shreds of strength, she rested her forehead on his, and whispered something only he could hear.

He gave the barest of nods before capturing her lips, and the last of her breath, in promise.

Her eyes became vacant, even as Lee came running over to them, dropping to his knees at their side.

Neji expected him to weep openly.

All that met him were eyes of fathomless sorrow that hardened into grim determination.

Their war had changed.

They fought for their village.

For their comrades.

They fought for her.

And when Neji followed after Naruto into battle, cloaked in chakra with heart burning in fierce defiance of death's shadows, her final words rang in his soul.

"Fly, Neji," she whispered. "I will be watching."

A caged bird no longer, he roared into the fray.

* * *

_I'm not normally one for angst, but this has been floating in my 'what if' musings for a while. Thank for reading, my friends._

_-GL_


	12. Like to Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In his clan, the old adage 'like to like' is an absolute. Until it isn't.

 

* * *

**Shades of Konoha: Dragon and Phoenix**   
**Like to Like**

* * *

'Like to like.'

That is what he is always told -

\- to stay with his own kind because it is fairest to him and fairest to her and fairest to any children that may come their way.

And although he watches her and loves the gentle curves and strong back unbowed by poverty, she is someone he cannot have.

And the elders worry that she will grab for what is not hers and hunt above her station and she has no idea she is the source of so much talk

And when he finally speaks with her, she is as confused as a fish would be if a bird came to call.

She is wary that he will snap her up in his jaws and then discard her, leaving her behind and used,  
\- but not before taking what little she has and leaving her unfit for anything but defeat.

And to the astonishment of his elders, she turns him away.

And he finds she also believes 'Like to like.'

And he dreams of hazel eyes and dancing swords but she is never his.

And when his nephew comes and declares his love for her orphaned daughter, he tells him the same thing he was told:

'Like to like.'

(And he never forgets his nephew's reply.  
Even when his remaining breaths are numbered, and his famous eyes grow dim, his mind's eye can still see his nephew, young and strong and proud and speaking in absolutes.  
And there is no hesitation in his bones - only the conviction and the inevitability of something as certain as the sunrise.  
And the two simple sentences echo as a decree to the clan, the village, the world, the stars.)

"Then there is no problem."

"She is the other half of my heart"

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of Hiashi falling in love with Tenten's mother, but his Mr. Darcy like confession/proposal is not accepted. It is bittersweet when his nephew is accepted by the daughter of the woman he loved, but he is proud of his nephew just the same.
> 
> Thank you for reading friends! - GL


	13. Whisper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes more than two men wearing spandex or the combined efforts of the Rookie Nine to embarrass Neji or Tenten. Or maybe it just takes the right words.

 

_Prompt/response to Nairil's illustration 'Whisper.' You can find her at Rencova (dot) deviantart (dot) com or on Tumblr as nairil-daeris (dot) tumblr (dot) com_

 

* * *

**Whisper**

* * *

The Fourth Shinobi was over, the village was being rebuilt at a remarkable pace, and the Rookie Nine/Team Gai generation was quickly becoming the backbone of the new Konoha. How their entire company of comrades had survived the war, they'd never know, but they were grateful, and made a point to keep tabs on one another and to gather as friends when they were able.

The evening found them at the Yakiniku Q and enjoying a meal. Naruto and Hinata would be married in two weeks, so the the Konoha 12 (except for Sasuke who was still not back in Konoha, and Lee who was on a mission) were taking advantage of what was probably the last meal they would share before the wedding.

It was also the perfect excuse to play The Game.

The Game started in those years Naruto went to train, and continued as the 4th Shinobi war began brewing.

It persisted in the tents and trenches and the space between battles.

It was one thing that had carried over into their new lives that didn't have the same haunt of bittersweet.

The rules were simple and based on an even simpler premise: no one (other than Lee) had ever been able to significantly or even visibly embarrass Neji or Tenten.

It had been hard enough when they were Genin; being on a team with the Green Beasts of Konoha had given them plenty of practice in growing their patience and their threshold for embarrassment by proxy. Now, even their frustrations with Lee were a thing of the past - especially since Neji's far-too-close brush with death in the war.

If it had been difficult to get either of them to come close to cracking before, now it was virtually impossible.

Perhaps Naruto had rubbed off on them all, because they showed no signs of giving up.

Determined to triumph, the group adopted a divide and conquer strategy, and set up the playing field accordingly. All of the girls sat in one booth at the BBQ, and the boys at another – just out of sight of each other.

Neji and Tenten watched as they divided up the tables; Tenten's grin was impish, Neji's mildly amused.

"Do you care where you start?"

"Not really," he shrugged.

"Then I guess I'll start with the girls."

"Uuugh," Ino rolled her eyes. "This is no fun – you never crack,"

"Well neither does Neji," Sakura crossed her arms.

"Clock's ticking, girls," Tenten slid into the booth. "Fire away."

"Fine, fine," Ino shooed Neji away. "Go on."

"Lucky us," Kiba grinned wolfishly, not moving over for Neji to take a seat. "I was hoping I'd get a crack at you."

"So," he looked Neji up and down. "how long have you been wearing women's underwear?"

Neji frowned. "I haven't been,-"

"Holy shit, Neji!" Kiba pointed, eyes wide and voice loud. "Is that a thong?"

"Yeah," Naruto snorted. "Neji in a thong. Good one-OOF!" he rubbed his stomach where Kiba had elbowed him. "Yeeah….!" He caught on, and cranked up the volume. "Holy shit, Kiba, I think you're right – I can see the whale tail from here!"

"Then you must be using the Byakugan, considering I'm facing you," Neji deadpanned.

"You two are idiots," Shino sighed. "That is because-"

"Dickless, you are stupid," Sai smiled his creepy smile while Shikamaru sighed.

"You'll never win like that," Chōji plucked another piece of meat from the barbecue.

"We'll see," Kiba glowered.

About twenty minutes later, they were no closer to their goal.

"I heard Neji is abysmally bad at singing," Sai suggested. "Perhaps we should relocate to a place taht offers karaoke?"

"Don't bother," Shikamaru yawned. "They tried that a month or two ago. He managed to get out of going up there every time, and these idiots ended up shiftaced and singing something awful and written for 13-year-old girls. Besides," he slid Neji a glance. "I'd bet money that he can sing, and won't be embarrassed."

"You manage to shoot down every idea presented," Sai turned his false cheer toward Shikmaru. "Is there a word for continually ruining a group of friends plans for a good time." He paused and looked over to Kiba. "Does this fall under the category of 'cockblocking?'"

"No," Kiba frowned.

"But I thought –"

"We'll explain again later, Sai," Naruto interrupted. "Now. As for Neji-"

A cheer came up from the girl's side of things, and Kiba's eyes glittered.

"They got her!" he jumped up, followed by the others.

Neji let them hurry past him – all except Shikamaru who was shaking his head at their friends.

But while the genius of their group was unsurprised to find Tenten looking nowhere near embarrassed, he was surprised (and perhaps a bit amused) to find it was Ino who was bright red, and the other girls were laughing.

"If anyone other than Hinata had said that," she gritted her teeth, "I'd've killed them.

"Pound it," Tenten held out her fist to Hinata. "Give up?" she asked the other girls.

"Fine," Ino glared at her. "Switch!"

Tenten stood and Kiba hooked an arm around her shoulders. "Well, I don't know if this just got easier," his grin was wide with mischief, "but it just got a whole hell of a lot prettier."

"Good to hear," she laughed as Neji slipped into her vacated seat.

"Good enough to hear again?" Kiba waggled his eyebrows, "because I'm free tomorrow night."

"Nice. But you'd better work on that move if you are planning on asking Tamaki to be your date to the wedding. Which is next week, in case you forgot." She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "So, you might want to get on that."

"Yeah, yeah," he held up his hands in surrender. "Hurry up and come back to our table and we'll see who's busting whose chops tonight."

The group of friends had barely rounded the corner back out of sight when Neji's interrogation started.

After a non-productive fifteen minutes or so, the girls tried a change of tack.

"So, Neji," Sakura leaned her chin in her hand. "I heard something interesting."

He raised his eyebrows

"There has been a recall issued for all privacy scrolls used for missions. Apparently, someone had a defective one, and it broke in the middle of the night."

"I heard about that," Ino leaned forward, drawn by her preternatural sense for good gossip. "Apparently someone was having an _extremely_ good time. They woke up half of the camp, didn't they?"

"Right," Sakura's eyes gleamed. "The disturbance was…" - she deliberately chose her words – " _enthusiastic_ , but short-lived. Whoever it was must've figured out their mistake and reset their privacy seals. Lucky for them the barrier scattered the sound, so they couldn't determine who was responsible. However," she turned back to Neji, green eyes alight with something suspiciously like mischief. "It turns out _someone_ here was on that mission."

Ino caught on, and joined in.

"Oh, were they?"

"Not just someone," Sakura laced her fingers and leaned her elbows on the table. "Someone who is trained to activate the Byakugan whenever there is trouble. So," she pinned Neji with a look that would goad a lesser man, "What did you see?"

"Nothing."

"The it must've been you," she blinked, countering his stony denial with calculated innocence. "Because protocol would've dictated that you check. Or did you break protocol on the mission?"

"Not at all," Neji flicked an invisible piece of something from his sleeve. "We have strict codes about when to and not to use the Byakugan, and how to use it. If you will consider that I live in a clan of people that can all see through walls, one of the first things you learn is how to filter the layers you see beyond." He looked Ino and Sakura up and down pointedly "Otherwise we'd all essentially see everyone naked each time we used our technique."

The girls gasped, and Ino reflexively crossed her arms over her chest. "You wouldn't," she scoffed.

"Of course I wouldn't," he said calmly. "Just like I wouldn't invade the privacy of comrades while on a mission."

"He's right," Hinata piped up, the tops of her cheeks pink. "We learn early on how to check on the safety of our comrades without directly looking in on them."

"As I said," Neji shrugged. "I saw nothing. If you doubt me, you can ask Shino – we were in the same tent. The disturbance was short lived, and we were given the all clear rather quickly."

"You were with Shino?" Sakura looked over to Hinata. "Why wasn't he bunked with Kiba?"

"Akamaru needs more room now," Hinata explained.

"Well, it's still suspicious, if you ask me," Ino muttered.

His shrug was both elegant and dismissive.

"Sorry to disappoint," Neji said dryly. "I was neither involved in the disturbance, nor did I see anything. As you said, because of that incident they recalled all of our privacy scrolls. I hear that it will be more resistant to both the Byakugan and the Sharingan." He pinned Sakura with a look that told her he'd known exactly how she had been trying to embarrass him (For purposes of the game and with no malicious intent). "If I had been the kind to peep, I would have ruined my chances of doing so."

"I'm relieved," Hinata gave a small smile. "New people on missions always get nervous when we make camp."

"Even about you, Hinata?" Ino joked, "Then they clearly never saw the way you look at Naruto."

Hinata's face went bright red. "I-I wouldn't! Not even to Naruto – I!"

"We know, Sakura put a hand over hers. "That is what we mean. You would never look at anyone else, because you love Naruto. We also know you wouldn't' cross that line with him…." Her smile stretched to teasing "Would you ?"

"No!" Hinata turned even redder.

"Just checking, Sakura winked.

"Well this backfired," Ino huffed. "I thought having your cousin on our side would mean we could finally make you crack."

Hinata flicked a glance at Neji before looking away from them all.

"I could never embarrass Neji."

"How's it going over there?" Kiba called impatiently.

"No good," Ino called back. "Shikamaru? When does Temari get back?"

Shikamaru stepped into view, followed by Tenten.

"All of this yelling is troublesome," he shoved his hands in his pockets. "She'll be here for the wedding as part of Gaara's escort."

"And as your date?" Sakura asked playfully.

"When does Lee get back?" he asked Neji, patently ignoring Sakura's cat-like grin.

"The day after tomorrow."

"Looks like we can get another crack at you guys then," Ino's eyes glittered. "I vote we try again at the reception once everyone has had too much to drink and Temari can get in on this."

"If you give Lee alcohol," Tenten crossed her arms, a dangerous glint in her eye, "you're not going to have to worry about the two of us being embarrassed," she jerked her thumb between herself and Neji. "In addition to the chaos that would cause, we'll be royally pissed."

"I didn't mean Lee," Ino waved the concern away. "I'd never do that to Hinata."

No one blamed Hinata for looking relieved.

"Are we calling it quits?" Choji poked his head around the corner.

"For now," Ino narrowed her eyes at Neji and Tenten.

"Oh good," he sighed happily. "That means I can order thirds!"

* * *

Four days to the wedding, Neji got a note from Tenten asking him to come by the shop as soon as he could.

He had barely opened the door before she bounded over.

"They came! They finally came!"

"When did they arrive?" he stepped out of her way, giving her room to lock the door.

"About thirty seconds before I sent for you," she flipped the sign to closed. "I was getting nervous - I was afraid they wouldn't be here in time for the wedding."

Neji's eyebrows raised.

"That was several hours ago. How did you manage to wait this long to open them?"

"I _might_ have taken just a _small_ peek," she admitted, hurrying to the set of stairs at the back of the shop, leaving him to follow.

He didn't say anything more; he let her excited energy fill the air with happy anticipation as she led the way to her apartment above the shop and to the small workroom where she inspected different weapons. Her home might be filled with weaponry, but she was meticulous about caring for her tools and storing them properly. She selected a scroll from the hundreds on her shelves, and placed it on the worktable. Practically vibrating with excitement, she unsealed the scroll.

The moment the glint of metal was visible, a strange calm settled over her. Neji had seen it hundreds of times - as excited as she was by weaponry (and she could get _very_ excited by weaponry) it also grounded and calmed her. He sometimes wondered if there was a part of her that resonated with whatever lifeforce could be countained in metal. Perhaps that was how she made steel dance.

Neji carefully picked up one of the kunai and turned it over in his hands.

"Aren't they beautiful?"

He hummed agreement.

"Perfectly balanced, too," she picked up another and balanced the point on her fingertip. "They are made from a rare alloy that occurs only in the Land of Iron. General Mifune let me test a prototype at his arsenal and then he adjusted them to my specifications."

She flicked the kunai up and let it spin in the air before she caught it and returned it with the others.

"That was surprisingly generous of him," Neji handed the first kunai back to her.

"Well, I did promise to help reorganize their arsenal and repair their weapons," she admitted. "But that should only take six months or so. No more than eight. I think." She shrugged. "Business has been slow anyway."

Neji stood very, very still, barely registering that she accepted the weapon back.

When he spoke, it was with a calm, surreal detachment.

"When was this decided?"

"Officially?" she caught up a rag and polished the two weapons they'd handled. "Only yesterday. But it has been in the works since Shikamaru pulled strings to let me go with him to the last summit meeting. These are incredibly rare weapons," Tenten replaced the kunai lovingly. "I had to trade something."

"Besides," she sealed them away and shelved the scroll, "it will give me a chance to work with some new weapons and fighting styles. They'll show me their kenjutsu, and I'll work with them on funinjutsu. That isn't something they do at all, really, so I'll be the resident expert."

"I see."

"I'm almost all packed," she added, picking up another scroll and handing it to him. "Then again, I'm pretty much always packed."

Neji made some sound of assent.

"And what is this?"

"The most recent version of the privacy seals. I was on the development team. It was Kiba, by the way."

Neji blinked, confused.

"What was Kiba?"

Her grin was sly.

"The person you heard on your mission."

Realization slipped over Neji's features.

"Kiba? But," confusion followed, "there was no one else in Kiba's tent. At least no one other than Akamaru."

"I know," she grinned wider. "The best part is he doesn't even know it was him. Ever see Akamaru chase something when he is dreaming?"

He nodded slowly.

"Well, Kiba can be the same way. It's surprising how loud the two of them can be – and what it can sound like. It's always especially bad if they have spicy food before bed."

Neji grimaced. "Dinner was spicy that night – I avoided it."

"Well Kiba never misses a spicy meal. All Shino had to do was make his privacy seal lapse, and the rest was cake."

"Shino?"

"Well of course," she rolled her eyes. "Someone had to trigger the lapse, and I wasn't assigned to the mission. Shino handled it – used a bug clone, I think? - and it lead to them revamping the seals. How else could we get them Byakugan-proofed without raising suspicions? Do you know how much time that sort of thing can take?"

Neji was now visibly perplexed.

"Why on earth would you bother with such a thing?"

"It's part of my wedding gift to Hinata," she shrugged. "Well. Mine and Shino's. Unofficially, of course."

"So, let me get this straight," Neji crossed his arms. "You and Shino conspired to make Kiba's privacy seals fail in such a way that even Kiba doesn't know it was him making the ruckus that was mistaken for a person or persons engaging in sexual activity, just so that measures would be taken to reevaluate and revamp the privacy seals which somehow is a wedding present to Hinata?"

"She said it herself," Tenten shrugged. "Going on missions can be uncomfortable for her, since people think she can use the Byakugan to look in on them. Also, she and Naruto are not only about to go on their honeymoon, their house won't be ready for another month. They will be staying at the Hyūga compound during that time. As newlyweds."

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to connect the dots.

"Ah," the barest hint of a flush tinted his cheeks. "I see."

Her smile turned wicked.

"Are you blushing?"

"No."

"It's alright," she gave a throaty chuckle. "It doesn't count when the others can't see you. If it did, well," she wound her arms around his neck, leaving the unspoken half of the sentence to suspend between them.

He banded his arms around her back.

"You aren't really going to the Land of Iron for six to eight months, are you?"

"That depends," she traced the downy whorls of baby hairs on his neck.

"On?"

"On whether or not you accept the mission that Kakashi is assigning you tomorrow. In the Land of Iron. For six to eight months."

She trailed her fingers down to fiddle with his collar. "Technically you'll be a resident liaison from Konoha to the Shinobi council. Shikamaru will still travel back and forth, but Kakashi felt it would be beneficial to have a consistent presence there."

"So," for the first time her smile was unsure. "Will you take the mission?"

"That depends."

"Oh?" she watched his lips carefully. "On what?"

"On whether or not upon our return you accept a position in my clan. By my side. For the next seventy to eighty years."

Tenten blinked.

"Did...did you just ask me to marry you?"

"What do you think?" he pulled her hips closer to his before brushing his lips across her jaw in such a way that she knew exactly where this was going (at least until morning).

"I think that I need your Byakugan to check that seal," she traced her fingers down his arm and plucked the scroll from his hand.

"Later," he said gruffly. "I'll go outside and check to see if I can see in."

She expertly set the seal with a throaty chuckle.

"Who said anything about looking _in_ , Neji?"

* * *

Naruto and Hinata's wedding was one of the most joyous events to ever happen in Konoha. The Konoha 11 (Sasuke couldn't come, but a rather attentive hawk watched over the festivities) were enjoying the festivities and each other.

"I can't believe you lost your voice doing karaoke," Sakura pressed a soothing hand to Tenten's throat. "Were you in a competition?"

"Just got caught up in the moment," Tenten replied hoarsely but with a sigh of relief. "Thanks," her voice was still gruff, but was no longer painful. "That's much better."

"I can't believe that so many of us have assignments outside of Konoha," Ino pouted. "It's bad enough that Shikamaru is always running off to the Land of Iron, but now you two? What will we do for entertainment?"

"You can always try to see under Kakashi's mask," Neji offered.

"Ugh," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Now _that_ is impossible"

"Well, the party isn't over yet," Kiba lifted his drink. "We're all here, and before the end of tonight one of you," he pointed at Neji and Tenten, "is going to be blushing. We won't give up!" he declared, rallying their friends. "That's our ninja way!"

The gang laughed and cheered and echoed Naruto's nindo enthusiastically.

Neji hid his smile behind his glass as Tenten shook her head at their friends.

"I'm going to miss them," Tenten rasped out.

Neji couldn't help but chuckle at how she sounded.

"Shush," she muttered, too quietly for the others to hear. "It's your fault I sound like this."

He attempted to adopt a less amused and more sympathetic expression with moderate success.

"Sorry."

"Hm," Tenten stood to go get another drink, patting him on the shoulder and pausing just long enough to whisper, "I'm not."

Neji was grateful that the others were too busy laughing and cheering each other on to notice the deep blush that flooded over his face.

And as she threw him an impish wink, he willed his color to return to normal, and settled on a new goal: to make her scream his name until the rest of her voice was gone.

"Good thing she fixed those seals," he smirked into his drink. "It's going to be a long night."

* * *

_In this AU Neji and Tenten have pretty much been "together" since the end of the war. After asking Tenten in his Neji-way to marry him, he did inform his Uncle. Hiashi in turn told Neji that he was slightly hard of hearing, and to try again after Hinata's wedding. He also mentioned that any engagements following Hinata's wedding would be protected by the new rules regarding the Branch family. Especially as regarding any children born and their being safe from the Caged Bird Seal. No ones to flaunt their life or their relationship only a few people know they are even dating._

_Hinata figured it out, but had some unexpected confirmation when she accidentally witnessed Neji and Tenten in his room. Embarrassed, she mentioned to Shino that perhaps the privacy seals should be updated. He spoke to Tenten about it that same day._

_Thanks for reading, friends!!!_

_\- GL_


	14. Admiration

_Tenten Appreciation Week. Prompt #1_

* * *

**Admiration**

* * *

He's known her since she was all elbows and hard angles - coltish with eyes too wide and too large and too hopeful for anyone determined to navigate life as a shinobi.

There is a natural exuberance and lightness to her - an optimism tempered with an indefatigable work ethic, and her buoyancy is the fulcrum dictating the balance between Gai and Lee's over-enthusiasm for all things and his under-enthusiasm for all things.

She isn't the prodigy and she isn't the protegee - she is simply Tenten.

But Neji knows that there is an entire universe inside of her, and that they are all held in orbit and from chaos by her kindness and insight and even her gentle exasperation.

The day he wakes in the hospital to find her there, he thinks maybe Naruto saved him once, but she has saved him now - pulling him back from the brink of nothing by being everything.

She flings her arms around his neck and demands that he never do that to them again and he holds her as tightly as his injuries will allow, disoriented to everything but the feel and smell and sight and taste of her.

That day he decides to never let go, and four years later he swears the same in front of their friends and family and Konoha and the chaos and the universe that glows and spins and bursts inside of her.

And when she lays in his arms, warm and pliant and beautiful in sleep, she is still just Tenten.

And that, he thinks, is more than anyone can ever hope to be.


	15. Your Hand in Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt for NejiTen Month 2017: Week One - Missions/Let me hold your hand for a second. Set in canon AU, five years after the Fourth Shinobi War. Neji not dead.

 

* * *

**Your Hand in Mine**

* * *

Life in the years following the Fourth Shinobi war was a curious thing.

Everyone had been affected differently, but it was safe to say everyone had been affected. With five years of relative peace, it was sometimes easy to relegate the war as a thing of the past.

But for some, the war was still a very real thing.

Sakura had seen each of them at least once for counselling, or coping with post traumatic episodes. Neji would have said that they were all dealing well in their own ways, and if asked that morning he would've pegged Tenten as having coped the best.

She'd always been a cheerful sort, and if she was a little more cautious or even more prepared than before, well then that was to be expected, wasn't it?

She'd never given him cause to think otherwise.

Not until that afternoon.

Neji and Tenten were co-captaining the team escorting a medical caravan, serving as both security and scouts. The locals told them about old traps lingering in the woods, so their team had gone to investigate. The two of them did the preliminary scouting, and discovered an abandoned base, probably once used by missing nin. The two of them sealed away any weaponry or evidence they could, checking for protective jutsus or anything that could pose a threat to the civilians. The network of traps they discovered was large enough that they decided on a calculated mass detonation, preferring to clear an area of the forest and destroy the underground base rather than to risk tragedy on a larger scale.

Unfortunately, an overly eager member of the team had disrupted Tenten's carefully plotted and alternating series of stabilizing and exploding tags, triggering the detonation prematurely. She launched into the fray, shoving the boy back and expertly flinging several kunai with exploding tags to interrupt the detonation so she could restabilize it. The entire affair lasted no more than five minutes, and save a few trees, there were no casualties.

Neji had been about to inform her of as much when she'd emerged from the billows of smoke, stalked over to the chunin, and snatched him up by the front of his shinobi vest with a vicious snarl.

"Do you have any idea – any idea at all – what you could have done?" she tightened her grip, and her eyes blazed fire.

"It…it was only a couple of trees," he argued weakly. "Nothing to be upset about…"

"Captain," she growled.

"Ca-captain!"

"That's right," she narrowed her eyes, and lowered her voice. "And that means I decide if it's worth being upset when someone stupidly risks the lives of those under my command."

The others looked to Neji then – clearly hoping he would say something as he had known her the longest and was the least likely to be skewered for stepping in.

Neji, however, stood silent, watching her every move.

"Y….yes Captain," the man practically whimpered.

"Get out of my sight," she half shoved half threw him back. "The rest of you. I'm going to detonate the remaining traps  _properly_ ," she glared at the chunin trying to will himself into invisibility. "Get back to camp. Radio when you are all there and accounted for. Understand?"

They chorused their assent, and disappeared into the canopy, racing back to their camp.

"You, too, Neji," she said, her back to him (making him wonder who it was with the 360 vision). "Someone needs to make sure they don't get themselves killed."

He left without a word – because he sensed there were no right words to say – easily catching up with the others.

The journey back was quick and silent, and their collective disquiet did not go unnoticed by the chief medic.

"Wow," Sakura blinked, stepping out of the main med tent, and catching sight of the young man still pale from his confrontation with his Captain. "Something happen out there?"

"Small mishap with the detonation," Neji answered coolly. "Might be worth looking this one over," he nodded to the chunin.

"Come on in," she stepped to the side and let him pass.

The ground began to tremble and in the distance a massive explosion cleared a good part of the forest. Instinctively, Neji activated his Byakugan, scanning for his partner.

"Sounds like Tenten's work," Sakura grinned. "Neji…? Is there something wrong?"

"No," he shook his head, turning back to her. "I believe I will send the teams ahead with you to the next site. Tenten and I will follow once we've done the final check and dismantled any remaining traps."

"Alright," Sakura watched him, her intelligent green eyes reading the set of his jaw and the inflection in his voice. "I'll see to our patient, and then we can begin to break camp."

* * *

The caravan was packed and ready in short order.

Sakura stood next to Neji, who was watching the horizon.

"She's still not back?"

"No. Not yet."

"Neji… I spoke with that chunin and he told me what happened."

Neji turned pale eyes to her.

"And?"

"And that was a rather severe reaction for Tenten, don't you think?"

"She doesn't suffer fools well," he shrugged. "Unless she's known them since she was a genin and they have a thing or spandex."

"That doesn't sound like her," Sakura murmured. "She was always the most patient with the new recruits - and I've never known her to pull rank on anyone, well... ever."

"Is the caravan ready to leave?"

"In about ten minutes," she glanced back to where the others were loading the supplies.

"Do you have time to do me a small favor?"

"Of course," she turned back to him. "What do you need?

* * *

He hadn't seen her face to face since he'd left her on the edge of the soon-to-be clearing. He'd radioed to fill her in on Sakura's plans and their own arrangements, and she'd agreed with his agenda. Between the two of them they finished locating and dismantling any traps - none of which were as extensive or deadly as the ones she'd already destroyed.

She arrived back at their new campsite after Neji, surprised to see the tent and bedrolls prepared, and a fire already lit.

"What's all this?"

"Camp," he shrugged. "And dinner if you are hungry."

"We should catch up with the caravan," she looked to the skies. "We can make it before they need us."

"I had the scouts keep an eye out on their way with Sakura. They radioed back with a few locations that bear closer inspection, so I told them to give me the coordinates and to proceed. We can leave at first light, if that makes you feel better."

She didn't answer – her eyes fixed on the horizon and the setting sun.

"In that case I'm going to reset my traps."

"The ones around the camp?"

"Yes?"

"Any reason to reset them considering you already moved them from the original camp?"

She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Byakugan," he tapped his temple.

"No," she muttered. "I suppose not."

He handed her a plate of food, and she perched on one of the fallen logs he'd rolled nearer to the fire.

They ate in silence as the skies darkened and the stars swirled above them.

He waited until their meals were done and the dishes stored to hand her the small scroll.

"From Sakura."

She unrolled it and unsealed it mechanically, but when the small box appeared on her lap, bafflement lit her features.

"What is this?"

"First aid kit. It's for those wounds on your arm."

"I'm fine," she abruptly set it to the side, standing. "I'll be back in time for first watch."

"What are you hiding from me?"

"My underwear," she said flatly. "I'm going to the hot spring we found."

"This would be more convincing if there wasn't blood seeping through your sleeve."

"It's fine," she bit back. "It isn't your concern, Neji."

"Since when are you not my concern, Tenten?"

"I can take care of myself."

With that, she disappeared, leaving Neji to pick up Sakura's scroll, and ruminate on the words of the doctor and his teammate.

* * *

He heard her return to camp, wet hair twisted up in a single bun, cheeks red from the steam. She assumed he'd gone to bed – which he had. He simply hadn't gone to sleep. With a sigh of what he supposed was relief, she sat on the log, wearily, and set her lantern nearby. The fire was still warm, and she sat as near as she dared, unsealing her own set of supplies.

Despite the chill in the air, she removed her long-sleeved shirt to sit in a tank top. Without a word, she unraveled her bandages and inspected her arm. She grimaced at the red, angry flesh, before unsealing several medical supplies – not the ones Sakura sent – and setting to work.

He suspected that the tears that streaked down her cheeks, ignored, were not ones of physical pain, although there would've been a good enough reason for them to be. The flesh on her arm was angry and irritated, and the splinters she was pulling out were thick and deep.

"I would have helped you, you know."

"Go back to sleep, Neji," she kept her eyes on her work. "I'm almost done here."

"Not from what I can see," he sat next to her and held a hand out for the tweezers. She continued to ignore him.

Finally, he waited until she was twisted at a disadvantageous angle to pluck the tweezers from her fingers and hold them up, Byakugan already in place.

"If you'd like to go to bed sometime before tomorrow, you'd might as well let me help."

She glared at him before turning her chin away, stubbornly giving a single, terse nod.

"So," he carefully studied her arm. "Get into a fight with a tree?"

"Something like that."

"I saw your arm two days ago and it was fine," he continued casually. "For your arm to be this angry it had to have happened with a good bit of force. Say – today perhaps? When that chunin triggered the traps?"

The bouncing muscle in her tightening jaw might as well have been a declaration of assent.

"Mm," he gently pulsed chakra into several points on her arm, numbing the pain so that he could gently cut the skin and remove the deeper pieces of wood. "That would explain your outburst. Although I've not known you to react so violently over personal injury."

"I wasn't reacting to the personal injury," she gritted her teeth. "I was reacting to the fact that he could've killed himself and the rest of us."

"Not the way you set your traps," Neji shook his head. "You always have lead time on the detonations – even though he triggered it early, you still caught the mistake in plenty of time."

"Once that kind of setup is disrupted, there is no telling what instabilities can arise," she clenched her fist. "He could've taken out an entire village. He could've disrupted the stabilizing jutsus that contained the shock waves so there isn't an avalanche fifty kilometers away."

"Tenten, I hardly think – "

"He could've killed YOU," she snapped, tears streaming down her cheeks, eyes locked onto his - and he saw the horror and the terror and the memory there.

The memory of a night of launched wooden spears – the ones that had impaled him and nearly taken his life.

Correction - it had taken his life.

It was only when Orochimaru and Tsunade realized his life force had been absorbed and sealed by the God Tree, that they managed to find a way to bring him back. When he woke up, it had been Tenten's turn to watch him, or so she had explained away her presence.

" _It was always her turn to watch you,"_ Sakura told him when he requested her help.  _"In those early days I lived at the hospital - and I saw her there more than I saw just about anyone else. Just... something to think about."_

Suddenly he saw the wisdom and warning behind the doctor's words, and the reason why she always had them all drop back when she detonated traps.

"Tenten," he ventured.

"I ...I won't…," her whisper was harsh and forlorn. "I can't watch you die like that… not again…"

She dropped her eyes and looked away from him and her injuries.

A single tear trailed firelight down her cheek while others beaded in her lashes.

Neji quietly returned to removing the last of the splinters, seeing them now as she saw them, his own heart rate rising. Deftly he spread Hinata's salve on her arm (which he knew Hinata made sure to give her and Tenten carried without fail) before bandaging it.

He stood and tossed the old bandages and splinters into the fire.

"There now," he watched the sparks rise to the sky. "They're gone."

"This time."

Her whisper chilled his heart even as the fire leached through his shirt to warm his skin.

Without turning around, Neji removed his shirt. When he did turn to her, she stared stubbornly at her hands, looking small and alone. He crossed to her, and tipped up her chin, making sure she met his eyes.

Quietly he took her hand and placed it on his heart.

"I'm here, Tenten," he covered her hand with his own. "This," he drummed on the back of her hand in time with his pulse. "This is real. This," he dragged her other hand to the uppermost scar on his chest. "This is in the past. It's everything I left behind. It is ugly and uneven, but it is healed, Tenten. It's over with."

He let her fingers trace it, feather light with hesitation.

With a gentleness his younger self could never have accomplished, he cupped her face in his hands, thumbing away her tears while her small hands rested on the solidity and warmth of his chest, his heart beat still thrumming under one of her palms.

"We're here, together, Tenten. Just as we've always been. You are the one part of the past I won't – and can't leave behind."

Neither would ever be able to say if he dipped his head to her, or she raised hers to his, but the resulting kiss was something long-remembered and cherished by them both. They succumbed to the undercurrent that had always flowed between them - an inevitable pull of gravity and fate and freedom and faith. Two parts of the same whole, they reclaimed their other half, and chased away the last of the ghosts between them.

* * *

 

The first wan tendrils of light crested the horizon to find them as a contented tangle of limbs in a shared tent. Habit and years of training brought wakefulness not long after, and Tenten was first to stir.

"It's early," Neji murmured against the nape of her neck, holding her tightly to himself. "Stay."

"Thought we covered this," she turned in the circle of his arms to press her forehead against his own. "I'm not going anywhere, either."

"And if I hold you to that?"

Her smile was slow.

"I'd expect nothing less."

Neji pressed a kiss to her palm before gathering her close, and winding their fingers together in a sacred and ancient knot.

"Mm," she hummed drowsily. "Just like that – hold my hand like that – for just a second longer."

He smiled and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"Yes, Captain."

She soon drifted into a weightless and blissful sleep, and Neji followed, content to sleep and wake with her hand in his for as many mornings as he had left to rise.

* * *

_I have a headcanon that for the remainder of her life, splinters and plants with thorns always catch Tenten off guard with a quick jolt of fear she never quite acknowledges. This was originally going to be set while they remodeled their home and Neji got a splinter sanding the floors. Tenten totally overreacted, and it took him a while to understand why - and then let her hold his hand to remind him he was there. Then this story showed up and I ran with it. Thanks for reading!_

_\- GL_


	16. Tanabata

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji and Tenten at Tanabata through the years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is Tanabata?
> 
> Tanabata is one of five festivals which customarily signal the changing of the seasons in Japan. In old times, it was held on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar year, but now the official celebration date varies region to region, with the first festivities typically happening from July 7.
> 
> Also known as the Star Festival, Tanabata has its origins in a Chinese festival and concerns the romantic legend between two literally star-crossed lovers, Princess Orihime the Weaver and Hikoboshi the Cowherd. The pair are represented by the stars Vega and Altair, separated by the Milky Way galaxy, and can only meet on this day once a year when a flock of sympathetic magpies form a bridge for them across the river of heaven.
> 
> In Japan, Tanabata is celebrated by writing wishes onto strips of paper and hanging them along with colorful decorations on leafy stalks of bamboo. Additionally, each region boasts its own unique Tanabata customs so festivities will vary from region to region.
> 
> \- Shamelessly copied and pasted from travel . rakuten campaign/ranking/tanabata/

 

* * *

**Tanabata**

* * *

It started when he was small.

His father's hand had been large and warm in his as he led him to the tree to tie his wishes.

She was there, then, in a red and gold kimono, her impossibly large eyes dancing about inquisitively. She smiled and waved at him, as her papa hoisted her up on his shoulder so she could hang her fortune. His father nudged him, and he waved back shyly, earning another smile.

"Do you know her?"

"No," he'd shaken his head, his cheeks warm.

"She looks to be about your age," his father watched with him. "Perhaps you will be classmates at the academy."

"Maybe," he shrugged returning another wave before she scampered off, hand-in-hand with her parents.

"Who knows," his father's voice had been carefully nonchalant. "You might even see her here next year."

His father had helped him tie up his wishes then, and Neji secretly added " _I hope she's here next year."_

She was there the next year.

But his father was not.

She caught sight of him and pressed paper into his hands.

"Take my wishes, too," she whispered, before running to catch up to her family. Her father took her hand, and her mother covered her mouth with a cough.

Several years later, there was no one with her, but she wrote her wishes and hung them just the same. They were both in Academy now – she was in his year. She didn't pay him any special mind, but he liked how she watched. She watched like she understood the value of hard work.

He was called a prodigy – some thought it all came so easily.

They had no idea.

But she did.

She watched like she appreciated the efforts that honed his genius.

It was Lee initiated the tradition of them meeting as a team to hang their wishes. He found out she had always gone with her family, and insisted they all go together, for a team that worked together should support each other in their dreams and ambitions. (There were multiple references to youth and other such things, but Neji and Tenten didn't bother listening to the arguments)

Lee didn't know that Neji and Tenten had been attending the Star Festival separately – but together – for years.

But as she smiled and laughed and that first time they hung all of their wishes together, he thought " _It always has to be this way. Or else it won't be right._ "

And she was the last one to have seen him with his father and to understand the things that had changed under the boughs of paper and bamboo.

It was the first place he had kissed her. And she had impishly grinned. "Didn't expect my wish to come true so quickly."

It was where he asked to walk her home. It was where they were before they spent their first night together. It was there that he proposed. And later, where he lifted his child onto his shoulders to hang her own wishes.

That night, she settled into bed, and yawned widely while he stroked her hair.

"Do wishes come true daddy?" she asked, eyelids drooping.

"They can," he ventured.

"But not if I tell anyone, right?"

"I understand that is the protocol."

"I didn't tell anyone my wish," she drifted to the edge of sleep. "So I'll be a big sister next year, for sure."

His smile was faint.

"Perhaps."

That night when he and Tenten wound themselves together in their bed, he settled a warm hand on her abdomen, watching the new flicker of chakra dance about.

He told her about his conversation with their daughter.

"I wouldn't have told you," he admitted, letting his Byakugan fade, "if I wasn't certain that the integrity of her wish wouldn't be compromised."

"Looks like she'll get her wish after all," Tenten smiled, snuggling closer to him.

"And you?"

"I already have mine," she smiled into the crook of his neck. "Every year from the first time I saw you, I added on an extra wish – to see you at the tree the next tanabata."

"Strange," he leaned back to better see her. "I was certain you would've included something about dumplings or whatever that inedible concoction was that you had me fetch for you last week."

"Fine," she shrugged. "Next time you have the baby. I'll go get the food."

"That would be most unyouthful," Neji shook his head. "Best to leave things as they are."

Her chuckle was low and warm as he tucked her under his chin, and they said their good nights.

And as sleep drifted over him, he thought of the small girl in the red and gold kimono with the too-big eyes that had filled his heart as long as he had known her.

Neji wrapped his arms around Tenten, thinking that she was proof that dreams came true in the most wonderful and unexpected ways.

 


	17. Poker Face

_Prompt for NejiTen Month 2017: Week Two - AU/Competitions. Set in present day AU._

* * *

**Poker Face**

* * *

Neji scowled at his cards.

Or he would have if he could be bothered to show any emotion.

There were rumors that Hyūga men were actually incapable of making facial expressions, their musculature having evolved to only allow for 'stern,' 'haughty,' 'smug,' or that vague line between 'displeased,' 'disappointed,' and 'dismissive' that sent people scrambling to get back in their good graces.

There were of course exceptions to this rule, but Neji was not one of them.

No matter how gravely disappointed he was with the cards in his hand, his expression remained unchanged.

After all, he was Hyūga Neji, and his poker face was  _legend._

He showed nothing – choosing instead to radiate cold and distance himself from the general populace. He saw everything and analyzed everything and broke down his opponents into a series of quirks and tells and decimated them at every turn. His calm was iron-clad and impenetrable. He was unapproachable. He was insurmountable.

And yet absolutely none of this fazed his last remaining opponent.

He first saw her in Vegas, and she was so comfortable, he assumed she was on her home turf. Then he saw her in Sao Paolo, Manila, Macau, and Paris, and thought the same things. He'd over heard her speaking to other players in their own tongue, and with very little accent. Hanabi was a big fan a fan and had taken to spouting off random facts about her.

" _Her name is Tenten. Her nickname is 'The Panda' because of her hair. She's supposed to be really nice. No one knows much about her. She's half Chinese – never said what the other half is. Really versatile player…"_

Thankfully these recitations were usually interrupted by a text from her friends (probably her boyfriend) or the general silence that fell over her when she got sucked into scrolling through Tumblr – which assured Neji of no less than two hours of redirection.

Unfortunately all of those stupid facts were circling through his mind at random, stealing from his concentration while she had the unmitigated gall to sit across from him looking for all the world like she was content with whatever she had been dealt – not smug, not disappointed, not thrilled, not assured – just content.

She occasionally tapped her fingers to her music in her ears, the gentle wiff of something like lavender or jasmine wafting over to him enticingly – if he were the type to be enticed – her face open and honest and kind.

This woman appeared to have no secrets – to show everything – which irritatingly made her unreadable to him. There was nothing to ferret out – nothing to discern.

And although she hadn't spoken or looked his way much at all, Neji had the distinct displeasure of feeling like she had read his every line, molecule, follicle and pheromone.

It was infuriating.

This was all Hanabi's fault.

It was Hanabi's fault that he knew all of these things about his opponent. It was Hanabi's fault that he'd gone to the hotel gym at such an ungodly hour – he wasn't sure yet how, but he was certain it was – and that  _she_ had already been there, running on the treadmill with her music jammed in her ears, and her focus on the TV in front of her. Therefore it must also be Hanabi's fault that she had proceeded to continue a workout routine that would've stopped most athletes in their tracks, yet she finished it intact. It was Hanabi's fault that he'd seen her in workout clothes that had no right looking as attractive as they did on the enemy.

And most of all, it was Hanabi's fault that he could see the edge of a pink racerback sports bra peeking out from the neckline of her loose shirt – if not the same, then the twin of the one she'd worn that morning he'd seen her, and the image came racing back to him, interrupting the synaptic responses from his eyes to his brain, and clouding his reasoning with the sight of strength and sinew instead of clubs and diamonds and spades and hearts.

And through all of this cyclonic upheaval, she didn't have the common decency to to be even remotely fazed by his intense displeasure.

He wrestled his remaining concentration and grounded himself for this final hand, and it all came down to the dealer's last card.

The dealer shifted the long toothpick in his mouth, flipped over the card, and everything erupted around them.

She'd been brimming with excitement, but contained herself enough to stand and extended her hand toward him.

"Congratulations," he'd said stiffly as she wrapped a smaller but strong and calloused hand in his own.

"Luck of the draw," she shrugged. "Just went my way this time."

Her smile was brilliant and kind, and the corners of his mouth tipped up despite every genetic predisposition that declared such a thing as impossible.

"You're lucky, too," she glanced at his palm. "Not just your record," she turnd his hand over in hers. And ran her fingertips over his palm, mapping the inroads there as his heart stuttered and crashed to a halt. "You've got good things coming your way." Her smile lit up her entire face, and he would be hard pressed not to call her 'beautiful.'

"I'm glad," she said warmly. "You deserve good things."

"TENTEN!" a man cried, leaping toward her, head to toe in a stunning shade of green. She laughed and let him snatch her up and spin her around before hoisting her on his shoulders. Neji blinked several times, wondering what in the world had just happened.

"That's her best friend," Hanabi said, sidling up to him. "Rock Lee. I'm surprised they managed to keep him back as long as they did."

"I see."

"Tough break," Hanabi reached for the table and plucked up a card. "And to think that this measly card completely turned your night around. Eh," she shrugged. "Better luck next time."

She stuck the card in the crook of his crossed arms, and hurried off to try and meet her idol.

Neji shook his head and plucked the card out, that same feeling he got when he had been goaded into getting into one of those carnival rides washing over him.

He sensed that everything after this night was going to be different in ways he couldn't possibly imagine. He caught Tenten's eye, and she shrugged helplessly as Lee paraded her though the throngs of people. Laughter poured from her, and he tucked the deciding card into his pocket.

"For luck," he shrugged at the dealer's raised eyebrow.

That was what he said...

...but he had the strangest feeling that the Queen of Hearts wasn't finished playing her hand in his game.

* * *

_I have this headcanon that Tenten is amazing at all card things and gambling, and that Neji has an insanely good poker face, second only to Shino._

_Thanks for reading, friends!_

_\- GL_


	18. Beautiful

_because I love them_

* * *

**Beautiful**

* * *

 

It comes as a simple and honest realization and slips through his lips and into the air between them without his permission or notice.

It hangs there a moment – a foreign thing neither can quite recognize – Neji as something he has said, Tenten as something she has heard.

But when she says "Pardon?" her eyes meeting his in all sincerity and with incredulity tinged with hope, it is something he feels in his marrow and at the end of every firing synapse in his being. It is something so simple as to certainly be. The sun will rise in the morning, the moon will follow at night, and this, is no more or less true or simple.

(and although it isn't the first time he's thought it, it is the first time he has said it in her hearing, and he needs her to know it is a truth – not a flattery or an opinion- but an unbiased irrefutable fact, for just as he is certain it is the first time she's heard those words from him, he needs her to hear them in the spaces between her dreams and marrow and thoughts and ions and atoms and cells.)

"You're beautiful."


	19. Bullseye

_I found a couple of variations on my Neji vs. Toddler prompt, and decided to share. This one is more lighthearted - enjoy!_

* * *

**Bullseye**

* * *

It had been a long time since Tenten had a chance to play darts, what with being a new mom, and the league times being late in the evening, and some people still being salty about losing to her. (That reminded her, Uchiha and Sai owed her $25 apiece.)

So when Naruto called and begged her to be a last minute replacement, she had  _really_  wanted to say yes, but instead, she said

"I don't think I can. That goes right through the munchkin's dinner-slash-bath-slash-bedtime."

" _Aw c'mon, Tenten_ ," Naruto pleaded, loud enough that Neji looked up, recognizing the voice.

"What does he want, now," Neji grumbled, still irritated with Naruto for sucking him into that tortuous poker game the other night that ended with Naruto's declaration that Neji was abysmal at cards, and he would be calling Tenten for any guy's night stuff from then on.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he saw that Hinata was calling.

"Yes?" he answered.

" _What the hell, Neji?!_ " Naruto asked in exasperation.

"Oh," Tenten looked at her phone and then back at Neji, confused. "Hi, Hinata – how are you?" Tenten shrugged helplessly at Neji and went into the other room to talk to her sister(ish)-in-law.

" _Listen, you jerk_ ," Naruto continued while Neji grit his teeth. " _This is tournament week and Teme broke his arm. We need Tenten to come out tonight or we will have to forfeit._ "

"One," Neji said coolly, "As I recall, you are the reason Sasuke's arm is broken. Two, you can't bring in a substitute this late into a tournament anyway. Three, she already told you no."

" _One, you are a dick,_ " Naruto countered, " _and Two, I put Tenten's name down on our alternate list ages ago. Half of the league did!_ "

"That can't possibly be legal," Neji scoffed.

" _It is when the reigning champ of the league is semi-retired and the owner of the bar where we have our tournaments makes a shit ton of money when she plays,_ " Naruto said. " _And three, she didn't tell me no. She told me that your kid needs to be fed, bathed, and put to sleep. If you are home, then what's the problem? Does your prodigy-ness not extend to taking care of a one-year-old?_ "

"Fifteen months," Neji corredted with clenched teeth.

" _Oh, yeah_ ," he could practically hear Naruto rolling his eyes. " _I can totally see where that would make a difference._ "

Tenten's laughter wafted over from the next room, squelching Neji's acid retort.

She was grinning at something Hinata said, and it reminded him so very much of how she had looked when he'd first seen her all of those years ago - oddly enough, playing darts.

" _She needs a night out, man,"_  Naruto sighed. " _You see how tired she's been lately? Let her have a break for once."_

Indignation flared in Neji's chest - he was not an unconscientous spouse. He regularly helped with their child, and made sure that Tenten had help during the day.

"That's not going to work Naruto."

" _When was the last time she got to go out with her friends?"_

"Last week," Neji said flatly. "With your wife and Temari."

" _And the kids_ ," Naruto added. " _And not those friends. Do you have any idea how many friends she has at the league? She hasn't seen most of them since that last tournament before the baby was born."_

Neji frowned.

"That can't be right."

" _Uh, yeah it can. When was the last time Tenten played darts not at home, and not with one of us?"_

That gave Neji pause.

When  _was_ the last time Tenten had really had a competitive game of darts that wasn't against him or one of their mutual friends? She'd said something just last week about wondering how the tournaments were going, hadn't she? Perhaps she had been missing it more than she let on.

Naruto must've sensed his hesitation.

_"One, measly, baby-free night, Neji. That's all we're asking. You can do that, can't you?"_

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and took a deep breath. He stood and found Tenten leaning a hip on the kitchen counter as she chatted amicably with Hinata.

"Tenten."

She blinked up at him.

"Yes, Neji?"

"Are you in the mood to go and save my idiot brother-in-law?"

Tenten frowned.

"But the baby-"

"I can take care of our daughter," he waved her concerns away. "Would you like to go?"

"It...it's been a long time since I got to play," she ventured.

In the end, it was that carefully banked hope in her eyes that got to him.

"Alright," he directed his attention to his phone. "Tenten has agreed to help you - but she had better come back with no broken bones, or any other repercussions from your nonsense."

Both Neji and Tenten had to pull their phones away from their ears at Naruto's  _WHOOP!_  of excitement.

There was the sound of phones being switched, and Tenten said "Yes, I'm here," just as Hinata's voice came over Neji's phone with a "Sorry about that."

Neji watched his wife's cheeks pink with anticipation.

"It's alright," he said gruffly.

As soon as the phone call ended, Tenten shook her head.

"Naruto never changes."

"True," Neji snorted.

"And... you really don't mind?"

"Of course not," he kissed the top of her head. "If you wanted to start going back to the league, all you had to do was tell me. We would've made the arrangements."

"I don't think I realized how much I wanted to until now," she slipped her arms around his neck. "We can talk about that for next season - for right now I'm going to go get ready."

"Mm-hm," he hummed agreement against her lips as she kissed him soundly, before heading off to their room.

Inside of an hour, Tenten was showered, dressed, and had gotten all she needed to get together for their child's evening routine.

"Her jammies are laid out, so is her towel and washcloth. Bottle in the 'fridge, clean and sterilized pacis in the jar in the kitchen." She slung a cross-body bag over her shoulder. "You sure about this?" she worried her lip. "I mean it's such short notice, and -"

"I'll be fine," he interrupted her, even as she looked past him to where their daughter was quietly playing, content in her own little world."She's been calm all evening."

Tenten nodded absently, but he could feel the buzz in the air around her, and sense the smile hovering at the corner of her lips, waiting for permission to shine.

"You're excited."

"Yeah," she smiled crookedly, "I guess I am."

"Then," Neji unlocked the front door, "I'll clear a place for the trophy."

"You're the best," she laughed and kissed him goodbye. "I'll have my phone on me."

Neji pulled her in for a final, lingering kiss, and then she was gone. He closed and locked the door, in a suspended state of contentment, proud to be able to give her this small happiness. All was blissfully peaceful for about ten whole seconds.

His daughter toddled into the hallway, scanning the length of it before turning her dark gray eyes up to him and asking "Mama?"

"Your mother is gone for the evening," he said simply. "It is just the two of us."

"No Mama?" she puzzled, a frown tugging at her lips even as she tightened her grip on the ball in her small, chubby hands.

"No Mama," he confirmed. "She will be back, but for now, why don't we..."

The toy bounced off of his forehead with uncanny accuracy.

His child crossed pudgy arms and glared at him with an eerily familiar determination.

"No, Dadda.  _Mama_."

And just like the first time he saw that expression on the original (the same pert nose, and pretty pouted lips, and sharp eyes, and iron will) the realization broke over him as clearly as if it had been announced for all to hear.

" _I am so_

_fucking_

_screwed."_

* * *

_I love the idea of Neji with a determined daughter, don't you? I think my kid was 2.5 yrs old before anyone else but me did bed time, and it was an adjustment, friends. A big, fat, crazy, adjustment._


	20. Drive Me Crazy: Need a Lyft?

_This isn't a long enough idea to be a stand-alone work, so I am posting 'Drive Me Crazy' as a mini-series in this collection. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Drive Me Crazy  
****-**  
**Need a Lyft?**

* * *

Detective Neji Huyga was known for keeping his cool.

Right now, he was decidedly  _not_  keeping his cool.

He'd been trailing a burglar for weeks, and had set up the sting that should've caught the perpetrator for once and for all.

Only it hadn't.

The entire thing had been botched. He raced out of the surveillance van, determined to run the thief down.

" _We've got a tag and a car,"_  the voice crackled in his earpiece. " _Get to a vehicle! Now!"_

"I'm parked just over…." He swore viciously. "Tires are slashed." He looked around wild-eyed, as a car matching the description wound its way through the cross street.

Neji raced around the corner, nearly plowing into a couple paying their fare.

"You," he yanked open the passenger door. "Taxi?"

"Lyft," she corrected him. "And are you high?"

"No, I'm an officer of the law," he flashed his badge. "I'm commandeering this vehicle."

"Yeah, not going to happen," she tucked her fare away and started her car. "My insurance won't cover that."

"I don't have time for this," Neji slammed his hand on the roof.

"Well then get in, Pretty Boy," she smiled sweetly.

He swung himself into the car, glaring at the previous passengers, watching with mouths agape.

"What?" he snapped at them, and they hurried away. "We're trailing a-"

"Four-door, silver vehicle, license plate 3459284?"

Neji blinked.

"Why do you know that?"

"They almost sideswiped me a second ago," she snorted, tossing him a notepad. "So I took down the information. You have the guy tagged?"

"Yes," he held up his phone, showing a map with a rapidly moving dot.

She murmured some street names to herself before giving a sharp nod.

"So," she checked her rearview before pulling out. "I'm not going to get a ticket if I can catch that guy?"

"No," he instinctively reached for his safety belt.

Her grin was wicked.

"That's all I needed to know," she tugged on her fingerless gloves, and Neji suddenly wished he'd gotten in the back seat.

"Buckle-up, buttercup," she gave him a final, glinting grin. "I always get my fares where they need to go." Before he found himself pressed into the back of his seat, and hoping to whatever god was listening that this thing had airbags.

* * *

_Quick, short, and just for fun!_


	21. Drive Me Crazy: Give Chase

_'Drive Me Crazy' as a mini-series in this collection. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Drive Me Crazy**  
-  
**Give Chase**

* * *

The "high-speed chase" as popularized by Hollywood gave the every-day civilian a woefully inaccurate and overblown depiction of police work that, had Neji been anyone other than a Hyūga, would have made him roll his eyes.

The sensationalized chases, complete with cliched dare-devil antics like screeching tires and on-the-dime turns did not translate well from the silver screen to practical police work; there was simply no call for such things.

At least, that had always been Neji's conviction.

Even as Tenten cornered into a narrow alley and screeched to a halt - where the red dot of the GPS had last stopped - he had trouble believing such a thing was real. Surely there was another explanation for his racing heart, and the unseemly tension in his muscles and mild nausea. He moved quickly when the car stopped, pausing only long enough to firmly instruct the driver to stay put and not interfere before jumping out on legs he refused to let quake if only out of gratitude for a return to terra firma.

But when he yanked open the driver's door of the targeted car, there was no one there. Neji swore as he checked the vehicle, only to find it devoid of any passengers.

He scanned the area and hurried to all of the logical escape points, checking doors, windows, and the streets in both directions, but the sirens of approaching squad cars drew near, he had to acknowledge the unacceptable.

The perpetrator had gotten away.

To say Neji was severely displeased would be an egregious understatement.

He returned to the abandoned car, and began barking orders to the officers that arrived on the scene. There was already a crowd lured out by the commotion, and three or four cruisers worth of back-up managing the onlookers while also securing the area.

"I want forensics to go over this thing with something finer than a fine-toothed comb," he snapped at the young officer, whose badge read 'Sarutobi.'

"Yes sir," he nodded, scribbling down his orders.

"Why am I talking to you?" he growled. "Where's Uzumaki?"

"On his way, Sir. He and Detective Uchiha were following another lead."

"Of course, they were," he muttered.

"I sent them," A third officer appeared, yawning. "Got your stuff in my cruiser. We towed your car; need to make sure nothing else was done to it."

"That's fine," he said dismissively. "Be careful with that!" he snapped at the young officer, who was gingerly removing something from under the front seat. "I don't need two years of work compromised by your incompetence."

The young man flushed brightly, but gave a polite. "Yes, Sir."

Neji turned back to Officer Shikamaru Nara. "What do we know?"

Ten more minutes passed, and another young officer trotted over to Shikamaru, handing over a few things before being dismissed. She nodded and returned to work, but not before her glance skittered nervously over Neji.

"I've got it from here," Shikamaru said, surprising Neji by handing him his briefcase and duffel bag – obviously retrieved from his car. "You've got tomorrow off; I'll see to it that your car is dropped off at your place as soon as the boys are done with it."

Neji's face remained unemotional even as the air about him cooled by several degrees, and he did not take his things.

"Are you dismissing me, Nara?"

"I am," he said with a wry smile. "For the good of all involved. Oi!" he turned and waved – to Neji's growing trepidation – to the Lyft driver, who was calmly leaning against her car, arms crossed, taking in the world around her.

"Nice work tonight," he said conversationally.

"Thanks," she grinned. "Definitely one of my more interesting fares."

"I bet," he smirked. "You okay to bring him home?" he jerked his chin toward Neji, who might have felt his stomach protest.

"Depends," her eyes danced. "Is he going to pay his fare?"

Neji glowered at her as Detective Nara gave a snort of amusement.

"Sarutobi."

"Sir?" the rookie came over, eyes darting nervously between him and Neji.

"Put these in the car for the Detective, would you?" he handed off Neji's things. "And you," he sighed, digging into his pocket and counting out a few bills before handing them over. "Try not to enlist any more civilians, will you? It's troublesome."

"At least my enlisted help was competent," he muttered, shooting a dark look to where Konohamaru and the driver were putting his things in the trunk of her car.

"Give him a break," Shikamaru sighed. "He's come a long way."

"Sorry, Nara," Neji's smile was small, tight, and frankly unapologetic. "I'm fresh out of miracles."

Neji strode toward his ride, but paused at the passenger side door.

"Oh, go on," the driver slid into her seat. "Might as well ride up front. So," she attached her phone to a cradle near the dash. "Where am I taking you?"

Neji gave an address on the other side of town.

She didn't bother to set the address, but let the GPS run and track the fare.

Neji watched the display in silence for several minutes before offering:

"You seem to know where you are going."

"I've got a good memory for maps," she allowed. "That is why I was able to navigate that tricky bit of downtown as quickly as I did. Although," she slid him a glance, "I do not think you were very comfortable with the last several detours."

"I was particularly concerned when we got to that area with the one-way streets."

"Thought I'd lose him?"

"I believe that concern was secondary to us barreling down the wrong way and being killed, but yes."

"Huh," she considered him. "That's a lot of snark for someone that probably has never run a red light in his life."

"And have you ever stopped at one?"

They were, in fact, approaching a red light, so she made a grand show of slowing to stop, and looking both ways even after the light turned green.

Neji arched an eyebrow at her, but said nothing more on the subject.

"So, what was going on tonight?"

"Police work."

"I meant beyond the obvious, Detective."

"Are you always this nosy?"

"I prefer the word inquisitive," she said, loftily. "And you've gotten grumpier since we started this little adventure. Was the guy that got away that important?"

"Probably not," Neji pinched the bridge of his nose, "but the fact that he got away is."

"Should we drive around the area? See if we can spot him?"

"Wouldn't do any good," Neji said more to himself than to her. "We didn't have a strong visual or a good description. The investigation was relying heavily on capturing and identifying whoever carried off tonight's burglary."

"Mm," she hummed, skimming a look over him. "When was your last meal?"

The non-sequitur remark took him off guard, and gave him pause. The realization that his last form of any substance had been hours ago, must have registered in his expression.

"Right," she tapped the screen of her phone, disabling the fare calculator. "Let's get you some food."

"That won't be necessary."

"I know the address you gave me," she effortlessly merged onto a busy thoroughfare. "It's a book store. I don't blame you for not wanting a complete stranger to know where you live, so whatever cab you were going to call from there, you can call from where I'm taking you. Or I can drop you off," she shrugged. "Whatever."

"Are you kidnapping an officer of the law?"

"Nah," she waved his concerns aside. "I'm feeding a friend that's had a crazy day. Big difference."

"I hardly qualify as a friend."

"Hi," she held out a hand, the other still on the wheel, her eyes on the road. "My name is Tenten. I'm a Pisces, I have a wicked arm, I am a dart champion, I love kung-fu movies and spaghetti westerns, I read a whole bunch, and I have a best friend that pretty much only dresses in green, who, judging from the logo on the gym bag I loaded into the car, you already know."

Neji eyed the hand warily, but finally shook it.

"Detective Neji Hyūga," he confirmed. "I have no idea what my zodiac sign is, I occasionally throw darts, I abhor all movies but enjoy reading, and I can only assume that you are acquainted with either Might Gai or his protegee Lee, as they are the only two people I know that chronically wear green and train at that dojo."

"So you're Lee's 'Eternal Rival,'" her grin bloomed into a smile. "I've heard all about you."

"That sounds ominous," he crossed his arms.

"Well, if you know Gai and Lee, then we are already friends by extension. And they would be furious with me if I let you do something as unyouthful as skip a key meal of the day."

"I suppose there is no stopping you now?"

"Pretty much, no," she shrugged, taking the off-ramp to a quiet, middle-class part of town with relatively low crime, and plenty of small businesses that worked together to keep their area low in crime. "But considering the way you were busting that rookie's chops, I got a feeling if you had seriously strong objections, I'd know about them by now."

"Hn," he hummed, but didn't bother to correct her.

The knowing twist of her lips assured him she understood, and they rode in companionable silence to the small mom-and-pop establishment. She tucked her phone in her pocket and got out of the car. "Coming?"

Neji hesitated, but the traitorous growl of his stomach belied his attempts at nonchalance.

Perhaps he looked more mortified than he realized, because she just shrugged, and said "I didn't hear that."

Officially cornered, Neji grimaced and exited the car, waiting while she locked it. She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets, and nodded to the restaurant, never breaking stride as they walked side-by-side. "I know of your family," she offered. "You'd be an idiot to just let anyone know where you probably live. I'll still be an Lyft driver at the end of our meal, and if you need a ride home, I've got your back. If not, I'll stick around long enough to make sure you've got a ride. After that, I return to my regularly scheduled civilian life, and you can keep up with the chasing after bad guys thing. That sound fair?"

They were just outside of the restaurant, and she paused to look up at him expectantly.

There was an open honesty in her face and a frankness in her voice that was oddly comforting to Neji. He gave a single nod, and she smiled at him.

"Alright, then," she pulled open the door for them both. "Let's get some grub!"

Neji caught himself almost smiling in return, and blamed it on a combination of novelty and fatigue, and the carry-over allowances he made when dealing with Gai and Lee, rather than amusement at his newfound companion.

But by the end of the evening, he didn't need to be a detective to know that the rest of his smiles were solely for her. Perhaps that is what motivated him to call for a ride – something to which she took no offense. They stepped out of the restaurant together, and were standing by her car when the familiar vehicle pulled into the lot.

Neij waved the car over, and the driver parked next to them before getting out to get his things.

"Guess that's it," Tenten closed her trunk.

"So, it seems."

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Neji," she smiled. "Even given the circumstances."

"Likewise, Tenten," he extended a hand to her. "Thank you for your help today."

"You're welcome," she shook his hand with a warm smile. "And don't worry," her grin was sure, "I know you'll catch whoever was responsible."

"Thank you."

"See you around, Detective,' she gave a small wave as she got into her car, and drove away.

Neji slipped into the backseat of the black car, and settled into the roomy back seat. "Thank you for coming, Kō."

"Certainly," the older man smiled, watching him in the rearview as he pulled out of the lot. "Home, sir?"

"Yes, please – thank you."

"I have to admit I was nervous," Kō chuckled lightly. "Never a good sign for a chauffeur to find their young charge with a Lyft driver."

"I think it has been quite some time since I counted as a young charge," Neji's lips tipped up in tired amusement, "And many years since I left my Uncle's home, but we both know you are irreplaceable, Kō. Lady Hinata would never hear of it."

"Just a friend, then?"

Neji thought about the business card in his breast pocket, and gave a quiet smile.

"Just a friend."

* * *

_Ah, Neji - they always start out as 'just friends.' Thank you for reading, friends!_


	22. Drive Me Crazy: Detour

_'Drive Me Crazy' as a mini-series in this collection. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Drive Me Crazy  
-**  
**Detour**

* * *

Detective Neji Hūyga was deep in concentration as he waded through a particularly dense file. He ignored the phone on his desk until it blipped three times, which meant either someone was calling his direct line – a number almost no one had – or it was a superior officer. Thus, he answered without consulting the readout.

"Detective Hyūga."

" _I had a bet with myself on how you would answer your phone. Turns out I was right - calm, cool, professional, with just that hint of suppressed irritation."_

Neji's eyebrows skated north a fraction of an inch – a veritable declaration of astonishment in his idiom.

"Tenten?"

" _Very good, Detective."_

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?," he sat back from his file. "Need to get out of a speeding ticket?"

" _No_ ," he could picture her impish grin, " _but I might know someone who does_."

"I'm afraid that isn't exactly my department," he ventured. "You might have some luck with the staff on the fourth floor."

" _That's a shame. According to my estimate he was going at least eighty-five in a forty-five, but that's just because I was going ninety trying to catch him. You remember – just before we took that little detour onto Park to head him off at Flint that had you nearly wrenching the 'oh shit' handle off of the roof of my car?_ "

Neji sat up straighter – a predator catching scent of his prey.

"You know who the driver was? How?"

"You want to see?"

Neji looked up to find Tenten standing at the corner of his desk.

"Sorry," she tucked away her phone with an only partially apologetic smile, "I'm not great at waiting."

"As proven by your choice of detours," he returned his phone to the cradle. "But in that, at least you were not mistaken."

"So?" she raised her eyebrows at him. "You up for a ride?"

"A ride?" he frowned. "Where?"

Her grin was sharp.

"To see a friend."

Neji had no idea how he ended up back in her car – he was quite certain he had told her he was too busy to leave, but there he was, in the front seat. To be fair, she was driving well within the legal bounds of propriety, but there was an energy - something vibrating and barely contained about Tenten that made the world spin faster, and his heart dance under his skin.

She was winding in the hills above Konoha proper now, and she turned into a narrow, private road that he would never have noticed had she not slowed the car to turn. It wound for ages before giving way to something paved.

"So how does this Kankurō figure into all of this?"

Tenten kept her eyes on the winding driveway as she spoke.

"We used to work together. He's a bit of a tech nut, and when I mentioned taking this job, and was considering installing a video camera for safety and insurance, he insisted on taking over the installation. The short version of the story is that he came up with a few new things he wanted to test, so we worked out a deal. I rent my car and the equipment from him; therefore he owns the rights to any footage. I have the right to access it for any claims."

"Sounds unnecessarily convoluted," he frowned.

"I think you are going to appreciate the convolution when he explains it," her grin was knowing. "There's his place."

Neji turned his attention back to the front of the car, where they crested the last hill, and caught their first full view of the very large, very secluded home.

"Impressive," Neji said, closing his door as Tenten rounded the car to join him.

"Yeah – he's done alright for himself," she allowed, going up the stairs quickly, and, instead of ringing the door bell, waving at the upper left corner. There was a buzzing sound, and she pushed open the door, waving for Neji to follow.

Neji was going to tell her he couldn't just go wandering around people's homes, but she was already half-way down a hall way. Mentally adding this to the list of "things I will have to explain later," Neji followed.

"He'll be in his workshop," she said over her shoulder. "Well, she paused at the door, as if to think. "One of his workshops."

She pushed open a door, and Neji's eyes went wide.

The wall of monitors was impressive enough, but the variety of images flashing on all of them was dizzying. The only other person in the room sat at the desk with his back to them. He was dressed all in black – black jeans, black hoodie with hood over his head – and was still except for alternating between bouncing his right knee, and tapping the toe of his black and white Converse on the floor in a complicated rhythm.

He held up a hand without turning around, and then went back to typing furiously. Neji slid a skeptical look to Tenten, who just shrugged and directed his attention back to her friend.

"Aaaaaaand, that's done." He punctuated his sentence with a final tap on the keyboard. He spun in his chair to face his guests. "Yo."

"Yo, yourself," Tenten gave a small chuckle. "Detective Neji Hyūga, meet Kankurō Sabaku – special effects guru, and technology wunderkind."

"Detective," Kankurō stood and held out a hand. "How'd you like joyriding with Ten?"

"It was quite the experience," he said evenly. "What have we here?" he motioned to the set-up.

"Working on a few projects," he shrugged. "Konoha has a solid Indie film scene, so I get a good bunch of work around here."

"He gets a good bit from big studios, too," Tenten smiled proudly. "And you should see the animatronics this guy can build – they are unreal."

"And why does a special effects guru have a camera in a Lyft driver's car? Planning on filming a high-speed chase?"

"Actually, that isn't totally far from the truth," he grinned.

"Kankurō," she warned.

"My family owns a security company – that's actually how I got into working with video and effects; by deciding what video had or hadn't been tampered with. Tenten is a good sport about testing some of the equipment and software I develop, and the footage is good reference for me when rendering cars and landscapes. That chase was amazing, by the way," he beamed. "Loads of reference in that one."

"Glad that worked out for you," she deadpanned. "And the driver?"

"Oh, yeah, right," Kankurō went back to his seat and scrambled his wireless mouse. "So Detective – did Tenten explain about the car and camera?"

"I imagine that if any insurance agent ever rode with her, they'd demand she be monitored at all times."

"You don't even know the half if it," Kankurō snorted. "Here's the jist. My family's security company owns the car and the equipment. We have been testing facial recognition software in our systems, and we want to be able to link all of our systems. For instance, if a high-end client has our systems in his office, car, and home, we want to be able to monitor anything our cameras pick up in all of those areas. It just so happens that the place that was burglarized was next door to one of our clients – we sent them a brochure, by the way, so thanks for the business. What that means for you, is I have camera footage of him getting to the crime scene," Kankurō punched a button, and several images popped up on one monitor, "Leaving the crime scene, getting into the car, and during the chase." Each location was punctuated with the push of a button and more images. Kankurō swiveled in his chair to face Neji. "Unfortunately, we didn't have cameras where he got away, so that's it from that night."

Neji stared at the images, rapidly cataloging the man's identifying features and committing him to memory. "As remarkable as this all is, I'm not sure we can use any of it," he frowned. "I'll have to call down to my supervisor and find out how much of this can be formally submitted as evidence, which is the only way we can cross-check it in our systems."

"Luckily, I saved the best news for last," Kankurō grinned. "See, this guy robbed the place next to one of our very,  _very_ important clients. When that client heard that his neighbor had been robbed, he called us pretty much in a panic. That means, as far as we are concerned, we've got a formal complaint listing our little friend here as potential threat to one of our existing clients…"

"Which gives you the legal right to investigate," Tenten grinned.

"Bingo," Kankurō winked at her. "And since we have those legal grounds, searching our own databases for his image requires no warrants, and no waiting period."

Neji nodded slowly. "And have you had any luck finding him?"

Kankurō grinned, and punched one button on his keyboard, flooding the remaining monitors with images. "Looks like he's been in a few of the other places that use our software, as well as a casino, a hotel, and even a few restaurants. Our little friend has been busy."

Neji studied each image in turn. "And you sure that this is all the same person?"

"Absolutely certain," he nodded with finality. "Our facial recognition software is second to none. Looks like he's done some of the burglaring, but he is dropping money off at a few of the casinos in town. Basically, he is only a little fish, but he is swimming in some pretty deep ponds."

"Alright," Neji leaned in, peering at one picture in particular. "We can work with this."

Kankurō's phone rang, and he held a hand up to Neji and Tenten.

"Yeah."

He listened for a moment before nodding. "Hold on a sec."

With a few taps on his keyboard, he brought up a video call between a man with flaming red hair, and no one other than the Governor.

"As you see, Governor," the man with the red hair spoke calmly, "My brother is already in touch with the police."

"I do see, Gaara," The Governor studied the three people through the camera. "And is that the driver that worked with us last year?"

"Yes sir," Tenten gave a small wave. "Nice to see you again."

"Well, that will please Madam Shijimi greatly," he said with no little relief. "She was quite impressed with your work, young lady. She has been in a terrible state since that robbery the other day – and is convinced that we will be the next victim if the perpetrator is not caught."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Kankurō said easily. "There is no way that thief could've gotten into your home the way he got into your neighbors."

"Yes, I know," he sighed pressing a hand to his temple. "I have said as much – repeatedly. Detective..Hyūga was it?"

"Yes, sir."

"I would take it as a great and personal favor if this matter was resolved as quickly as possible. I have a call in to the police commissioner; he is to make any resource available to you. Gaara, do we have our liaison in place?"

"I was going to suggest Ms. Tenten serve as the liaison between our company and the police," Gaara said calmly. "She is still in good standing as being eligible for governmental contracts."

"That will do nicely," The Governor interrupted. "I am familiar with her qualifications, and arrange for the paperwork to be sent over immediately, that is, of course, if Ms. Tenten is amenable to such an arrangement?"

The Governor let the question hang in the air between them all – as graciously phrased as what was essentially an order could be.

"I would be delighted, sir," she answered.

A shrill voice could be heard in the background, calling for Tora (who they all knew to be the most rotten cat in the entirety of Konoha), which meant Madam Shijimi was nearby.

"Yes, Well," the Governor hurried to wrap up the call. "That is excellent. Detective Hyūga, Ms. Tenten will officially be the representative to my office as well as to Subaku Security. I look forward to hearing more about your progress." His screen flicked off, and Kankurō waited a full five seconds before laughing.

"Nice," he held out his fist to Tenten. "Good to be working with you again."

"Agreed," Gaara's smile was small, but kind. "And don't worry, Detective Hyūga. We were made aware of your ongoing investigation, and will not impede your efforts. In fact, as soon as clearance comes through from the Commissioner, I am hoping that we can clear all of these matters up at once."

"Here you go, Detective," Kankurō handed Neji a large manila envelope with printed images and a thumbdrive. "That ought to be enough to get you started. Ten, your stuff is on the secured site – login's the same as usual."

"Not sure we should get ahead of ourselves," Neji ventured cautiously. "The Governor can be… capricious in his whims. Until I am formally released by my department, my hands are tied."

"Oh…," Kankurō leaned back in his chair. "So you're going to be the straight-laced law abiding cop to Tenten's dare-devil, nosy civilian. A bit cliché, perhaps, but I think it could work for you two."

Tenten rolled her eyes while Neji's phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Pardon me," he murmured, mildly surprised when he realized who was calling.

"Sir?"

" _Detective H_ ū _yga,"_  Kakashi's voice came over the line. " _It sounds like you are having a busy morning."_

"So it would seem, Sir."

" _The Governor already talked to the Commissioner. Sabaku Security is known to us, and you are formally released to work with them and their liaison. I had a little chat with Gai – she checks out, and has passed the necessary background checks."_

"And the ongoing investigation?"

" _I have reason to believe this will support that investigation, and urge you to cooperate – particularly with your new partner."_

A small creased etched itself between Neji's eyebrows at the word 'partner', but his tone remained unchanged as he replied. "Yes, Sir."

The conversation ended, and Neji turned to find Kankurō watching him with open interest.

"That was the boss giving clearance?"

"It was," he said neutrally. "It appears that we shall all be working together."

"So?" Kankurō clapped his hands together cheerily. "What's it going to be? A polite 'thank you' followed by 'I'll be in touch?' A monologue about how you work better alone? A stern warning not to interfere made pretty by your indefatigable good manners?"

Neji quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Watching too much TV, are we?"

"Movies," Tenten corrected with a crooked smile. "And he's seen them all."

"So?" Kankurō leaned forward in anticipation.

"So," Neji managed not to sigh. "I think we should start by pooling our resources and figuring out what we know. Once we are all on the same page, we can devise a plan of attack."

Tenten shrugged. "Why wait? We've got the information - I say we figure out who this guy is and just go take him down."

Neji's frown deepened. "That isn't how we do things."

"Yeah, I know," Tenten grinned. "I said that solely for Kankurō's movie cliché gratification. It just so happens I agree with you entirely. You've worked this case a while; I'm betting you have extensive files, both physical and electronic, yes?"

"I do."

"How long would it take to pull all of that together for a debriefing of sorts? We can do it here or at the station."

"Snacks are better here," Kankurō chimed in. "So is the software, should we need to run someone through our system."

"I can have it ready for tomorrow," Neji allowed.

"Time?"

"First thing in the morning."

"Kank?"

"I can't pull my stuff together before noon."

"You mean you can't be bothered to have a conversation before then."

"Pretty much."

"So?" Tenten looked between them. "Noon? Tomorrow? Here?"

Both men agreed, Kankurō with a shrug, Neji with a nod, and a vague sense of having just been " Handled."

"Then we'll be back tomorrow," she turned to Kankurō. "You'll tell Gaara?"

"On it," he stood and stretched. "I'll walk you guys out."

They followed Kankurō to the front door.

"One more thing," he offered. "You two are going to be working one-on-one; you should try and get to know each other a little more. That will probably save some explanations later."

Neji considered him. "Another movie cliché? Detective and civilian with troubled past brought together by a case? Are you hoping for days laced with latent sexual tension/. Perhaps even a case of unrequited love?"

"Actually, I was thinking it would just make our lives easier, but, if that other stuff works, That'd be fine."

Tenten laughed and Neji gave an amused smirk.

"I think we'll stick with the standard intro," Tenten pulled her keys out of her pocket.

"Suit yourselves," Kankurō fished out his wallet and handed over a credit card to Tenten. "For lunch," he instructed. "Gaara will activate yours tomorrow."

"Fair," she nodded, pocketing the card. "Thanks, Kankurō!"

Neji waited until they were in the car and winding back to civilization to ask: "So what is the standard introduction?"

"Basically like dinner the other night but more directed, and on Gaara's dime. You should know more about the people you are working with so you can better plug them in to this investigation. Believe it or not, we're a pretty good set of resources."

"So, it would seem," he drawled. "I certainly didn't expect dispensation at the gubernatorial level."

"Well," her smile twitched up impishly, "you've clearly never had to deal with an upset Madam Shijimi."

"And you have?"

"Ohhhhh, yeah," she laughed. "Tell you about over lunch?"

Neji should've declined, but found himself agreeing, "I look forward to it."

* * *

_Are we liking this one? Thanks for reading! - GL_


	23. Drive Me Crazy: Merge

_Drive Me Crazy' as a mini-series in this collection. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Drive Me Crazy**  
-  
**Merge**

* * *

'Lady Hyūga' was a title long-revered in Konoha. However, where some had worn that title as a mantle of pride, or wielded it like a club, Hinata Hyūga wore it with a gracious subtlety; an expensive and unpretentious accessory donned daily that often went unnoticed by the untrained eye. In fact, were one to encounter her at the market, or somewhere mundane, there would be nothing over to indicate they had met someone with a lineage traceable in ancient and carefully inked scrolls. Her gentle grace and kindness endeared her to all who knew her.

Her pale, lavender eyes were the only tell-tale hint that she hailed from one of Konoha's oldest and most illustrious families, and they were currently studying her cousin Neji over a cup of tea.

"It sounds as though you have had quite a few adventures since we last spoke."

"Adventures might just be the word for it," he scoffed lightly. "'Near Death Experiences' might be another option."

Hinata's laugh was light. "Either way, you made Kō's day when you called for a ride. He asked me to make sure you knew he was available at any time."

"I might take him up on that," he set his cup down. "It would certainly be kinder to my nerves."

"Oh?" she hid the quirk of her lips behind her tea. "Does this woman make you nervous?"

"Terrified," he deadpanned. "At least when she drives."

"Well, I don't know that I can help you there, but I do think I can allay some of your other fears."

She handed Neji several manila folders before reaching for the teapot to refresh their cups.

"I did as you requested and asked around about Sabaku Securities. I had heard of them before, but we've always done our own security "in house" as it were. It turns out that it is a very reputable firm."

"And the younger brother is tied to the film industry?"

"That checked out as well. I was even able to learn a little about your new partner. She has done several bodyguard and security assignments in this area, and anyone that mentioned her to me was well pleased with her service and abilities. It appears her time working with Madam Shijimi is well known in certain circles, and she comes off in a positive light. I am certain I don't need to tell you that Madam Shijimi can be a very difficult client."

Neji shook his head.

"Has Tenten told you much about her work?"

"Not really," he turned the page of a file, reading through it.

"Then, you don't know how she met Kankurō?"

"No," he looked up from the folder. "Should I?"

"It isn't really a secret per se," she shrugged. "More of a 'little known fact."

Neji raised his eyebrows.

"Hinata!"

They both turned to find Hanabi hurrying toward them.

"Did you tell him yet?!"

Neji looked between them. "Tell me what?"

"That your friend is legitimately badass," Hanabi plopped down next to Hinata and helped herself to a cup of tea. "I heard all about her from Genma."

"From Genma?" Neji arched an eyebrow. "Sounds like that could be little better than gossip."

"Oh, no, it is  _so_  better than just gossip," she plucked a cookie from a tray (that Hinata kept on hand especially for her). "Besides, you know that Genma knows literally everyone. Turns out that Father went to him sometime before Hinata went abroad last year; said he wanted to hire a body guard for her."

"And he did," Neji met Hinata's eyes, and she nodded once. "What of it?"

"Well, while that Kurotsuchi was very competent, she wasn't Genma's first choice. Tenten was."

Neji's brows lifted. "I was unaware they are acquainted – although, if she is known to Gai and Lee, that isn't so surprising."

"Yeah, but that's not the best part. The best part is  _why_  she wasn't able to take the job."

"Oh?"

"She was on-set, making a  _movie_ ," Hanabi said, delighted. "She's a stuntwoman, and has even done some of her own stuff under a different name. She met Kankurō when he was helping design the effects for this insane fight-scene, and he enlisted her to do some contract work for Sabaku. So your partner is famous!"

Neji looked to Hinata questioningly and teased. "Are stunt people considered famous?"

"Um, this one is," Hanabi shoved a magazine into his hands. "She grew up in the Land of Waterfalls – you know how big the movie industry is there right?! Her parents both did martial arts and were in films from the time they were kids. Their story is really great: met as kids, did few movies together as teens, fell in love, got married, had Tenten. Her mom does some directing now, and her dad runs a major dojo. They still choreograph fight scenes now and then. Tenten has worked in films off and on her whole life – as an extra, or as a double."

"Kung-fu movies and spaghetti westerns," he murmured.

"Her stuff is way cooler than that," Hanabi rolled her eyes. "But she keeps a super low profile."

"Odd, considering she introduced herself to me right off of the bat."

"Yeah, as Tenten," Hanabi huffed. "That's been her nickname since she was a kid, and not many people know it. Her real name is Tian Hoshi."

"Hoshi?" he blinked. "Like that Ryu Hoshi whose movies you used to make us watch?"

"Yes, and like Chun-Li Xiang-Hoshi, whose movies  _you_  used to make us watch."

Neji wanted to dismiss the whole thing as ridiculous, but as soon as Hanabi said that, he saw it. More importantly, he couldn't  _unsee_  it.

"I suppose that explains the hair," he said lamely. "But how do you know all of this?'

"I dug that out of an old collection," she motioned to the magazine in his hands, and he opened it. "Its one of the only interviews she did, and it was about nine years ago when she was sixteen."

Hinata looked to Neji. "So she is your age?"

"I guess so," he flicked through the pages.

Hinata sat closer to Neji to look at the magazine over his shoulder. "How did you figure this out, Hanabi?"

"I saw her on duty a while back," she admitted, rummaging into her bag to hand Hinata a more recent magazine. "I just thought she looked familiar. I just couldn't place her, until I saw her sparring with Lee at the dojo. She really is unreal."

"I wonder what brings her to Konoha," Hinata opened the magazine and skimmed the table of contents.

"From what I hear she still does stunt work, but I think she's been picking up a few more jobs with Gaara."

"And being a Lyft driver is flexible enough for someone that can handle themselves," Neji allowed. "And it says here that she is actually a stunt driver as well?"

"Oh, yeah," Hanabi's eyes gleamed. "She's done loads of chase scenes. I hear you had a very direct sample of her work?"

"Far too direct," he grimaced.

"Hm," Hanabi hummed, and exchanged a knowing glance with her sister. "I am still planning on traveling next year; maybe I should put a request in early to have Tenten join us!"

"Perhaps," Hinata's smile was amused. "If nothing else, it seems like it would make sense to get to know her. Would you like to invite her around Neji, or shall I?"

Neji flicked the magazine shut. "I am assigned to work with Tenten, not socialize."

"Ah yes," Hinata tipped her head to the side and considered him. "I had a very nice chat with Kakashi the other evening – I hated to interrupt his conversation with Madam Shijimi, but it was a matter most urgent."

"Oh?"

"Can't recall now quite what," her smile was coy, "but at the time it required his immediate attention. He actually asked if I had met Tenten and seemed to think it would be a good idea for me to do so. I suspect he would like me to introduce her to some of the other families in the area, and to make a connection here or there to keep the social end of the case healthy."

"In other words," Hanabi leaned in, "Kakashi knows that sending you to talk to these women will be like feeding you to the wolves; they'll eat you for breakfast."

Neji didn't wholly disagree with the assessment, even if it rankled him that Hinata had been consulted in this and he had not.

"So?" Hinata asked again. "Would you like to bring her by for tea, or shall we meet on our own?"

Neji sighed.

"What days work for you?"

By the time he left, he had arranged for Tenten to meet Hinata (and Hanabi had arranged to be in attendance, even if her presence was not strictly necessary), and he couldn't decide who was helping whom. Later that night, he got a call from Lee inviting him to the dojo for a spar.

"I understand you have met our Most Youthful Lotus, Tenten!" he enthused. "I have invited her as well – I can't believe I'll finally have two of my favorite sparring partners in one place!"

Neji fell asleep with images from those articles floating in his dreams, played out against a background of a movie he wasn't certain he remembered, but whose heroine he certainly recognized. The next day when he picked up Tenten he had two challenges:

1) Deciding if and when to bring up her career.

2) Trying to pretend he hadn't spent the entirety of the previous evening dreaming about her.

Neji was counting on the the spars to delay the first and defer the second. But when she pinned him to the mat, he gave up the idea that #2 wouldn't repeat, and countered by pinning her in turn.

"Nice!" she laughed. "Since this is a fair fight, you win."

"And if it wasn't?"

Her eyes sparked in challenge, and he felt her wrists twist under his palms, testing his hold.

"Care to find out?"

Something flared under his ribs, and that strange, steadied calm slid over him - the one that marked his younger days when he competed with Lee, and had been regarded by the other fighters as unbeatable.

He adjusted his hold, pinning her securely, unable to stop the haughty twist to his lips.

Her grin became wicked as the understanding passed between them.

With moves almost too fast to follow, she went for a headbutt, forcing him to move back, and giving her that half-second of opportunity to break his hold. She scrambled to her feet, her entire body language electric and predatory.

"Alright, partner," she tossed her work-out jacket to the side. "Let's go."

Neji now had a third challenge... and he suspected he was going to love every minute of it.

* * *

_Badass Tenten is canon, but Stunt-woman Tenten is one of my favorite head-canons. If the other names seem familiar, you grew up playing Street Fighter. Or maybe you read my 'Twelve Days of Christmas?' Tenten being related to Ryu/Chun-Li is one of my favorite AU concepts._

_Pick your poison, friends! What do you want to read next? A) Neji suavely maneuvering Tenten out of an awkward situation. B) Neji having to get behind the wheel of a race car for a defensive driving exercise per Kakashi's order, ... and guess who is tagging along?"_


	24. For Auld Lang Syne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Year means new beginnings - or maybe just fresh starts.

_I blame the New Year...and the wine that came with it._

* * *

**For Auld Lang Syne**

* * *

Tenten's shift ended late, and she dragged herself into her apartment just as others were beginning to go out for the evening.

New Year's Eve was in full swing.

Tenten locked her apartment and hung her keys on the peg by the wall where it was joined by her coat, earmuffs, hat, scarf, gloves, boots, and heavy hoodie.

It was frigid outside – the wind was bitter, and sharper than any tool in her arsenal. Her phone had been buzzing merrily all evening with notification after notification of friends updating statuses and posting pictures and sending texts and wishing the world a Happy New Year.

She couldn't be more removed from their reality.

Not since he left.

She understood, really – he had always said he would take his place in his family's company – that he would be moving up in his world. The mistake had been hers; she'd grossly underestimated how far that world was removed from her own. Their time together became less and less, and their disagreements – once non-existent – were becoming commonplace.

She supposed she was grateful they never got around to actually moving in together. He had left the country after one of their fights, and was going to be gone for months. With no reconciliation in sight, she'd lived in a miserable limbo, never so unsure of where she stood in her life. When the offer came to move to the big city and start over – what was there to keep her from accepting?

Nothing.

The same thing that filled her days and her heart and her dreams. She worked and excelled, and had the chance of making friends, but largely kept to herself. She kept in touch with Lee, if only to keep him from breaking down her door if she didn't reply to his messages after a few days, but she rarely spoke with anyone back home. She'd never been a convincing liar, and knew they'd hear the raw hurt in her voice. People here were fooled; they'd never seen her happy. They took her subdued cheerfulness as a confident contentment, and she concealed her wounds with a slight of hand no one had been clever enough to catch.

There had only ever been one pair of eyes that saw through her illusions – and she had run half-way around the world to escape them.

Her phone rang, distracting her from her wandering thoughts.

"Hey," she answered, sandwiching the phone between her ear and shoulder as she perused the contents of her refrigerator.

" _Hey yourself_ ," a smug voice chuckled. " _Is that anyway to greet your favorite cousin?"_

"You're my only cousin, Shisui," she sighed, reaching for the electrolyte drink she'd stashed away after her morning workout.

" _I think the others would be offended to hear that_ ," he admonished playfully.

"Technically we aren't related," She shrugged. "Our moms were cousins – your dads are cousins."

" _Family is family, Tenten. And as your family, I am concerned about your current whereabouts._ "

"Then check the location on my phone," she rolled her eyes bumping the refrigerator door closed with her hip. "I'm home, and planning on being in my pajamas as soon as I can manage it."

" _On New Year's_?" she heard him frown. " _Really_?"

"It was a long day," she sighed. "I already got my workout in, I showered, and I am tired. What makes tonight any different than any other night?"

" _Well, I'm at your door, for one_."

"Tell me you are kidding."

Her doorbell rang.

" _Nope_."

Tenten hung up and sighed as she pressed the phone to her forehead and muttered: "Why me?"

Tucking the phone in her pocket, she opened the door to find her older cousin leaning in her door frame, holding his phone up for her to see.

"I forgive you for hanging up on me," he said loftily, "but only because I am feeling rather magnanimous."

"Lucky me," Tenten stepped back, letting him in the apartment before locking the door behind him.

"Deadbolts, Tenten?" he asked, as if hurt. "We work for the most advanced security company in this hemisphere and you are using  _deadbolts_?"

"They work," she said flatly, taking some of his load from him. "C'mon in," she padded back into the apartment.

"Why thank you, I am well," he called after her as he removed his boots and coat, and set a satchel down that clinked suspiciously. "And yes, I did manage to fight the crowds to procure and deliver your favorite treat and then trek across town to spend the evening with you. You're  _welcome_."

"It's like I can hear the italics," she put the bag on the counter and began to pull out the food. "You talk like you email."

"It's a gift," he shrugged. "You ran this morning, right? How was it?"

"Not bad," she shrugged. "The park was pretty empty. Must've hit the gym at a good time – it was pretty empty, too."

"Maybe because the resolution crowd is busy racking up regrets before they turn over a new leaf. Speaking of," he helped her sort through the food. "Why aren't you out reveling?"

"Do I look like I need any more regrets?" she muttered and they both pretended they didn't wince.

"Well I'm here to make sure you start the year off right," Shisui announced. "I brought your dumplings, and your electrolytes, and I already have a reservation for breakfast for tomorrow, and this," he handed her a bag.

"What's this?" she automatically took the bag, even as he began to plate their food. She frowned as she pulled out a shoe box. Shisui remained silent as she opened the lid and a pair of state-of-the-art, stupidly expensive running shoes stared back at her. She quietly removed them from the crisp tissue paper and held them up for inspection. "Whoa," she breathed.

"Custom made," he added, pulling out her chopsticks. "They are the best thing in the world for running. And you'll need those lined bottoms," he motioned to the garments she was unfolding. "It's cold as fuck tonight, and even at our best time, the run will take a minute."

"Run?" she blinked, head cocked to the side. "What run?"

"Midnight," Shisui speared a dumping with his chopsticks. "You. Me. New shoes. Fucking freezing ass weather."

"Oh," her eyes lit up. " _That_  run."

"Eat up," Shisui pushed the dumplings toward her, while glancing at the clock. "This should be light enough that we won't puke it up on our run, but heavy enough we don't have to attack other runners for food."

"Deal," Tenten speared her own dumpling with a smile that made Shisui's heart warm, because it was Tenten's smile. He'd sent her to her room at 11:20, demanding she change, since they'd have to head out soonish to be in the park by midnight. She emerged with her cold-weather running gear, her hair wrapped in her twin buns, her earwarmers around her neck.

"What are you watching?"

"Thought it would be fun to see the crowd at the Ball Drop," he motioned to the television, and the cameras panning around the skyscrapers and crowds.

"You couldn't pay me to be there," she snorted. "Way too many people."

"Agreed," Shisui fished something out of his pocket. "Here. We need this."

"A security badge?" she blinked at it, taking the lanyard.

"There are checkpoints in the park," Shisui sighed. "Luckily locals and fellow security workers get preferential treatment."

"So you know a guy," she grinned.

"Yeah," he chuckled as he turned back to the TV. "Hey," he leaned forward with a frown. "Speaking of knowing a guy... doesn't that one look familiar?"

"Which one?" she asked, fiddling with the zip on her jacket and tugging it over her narrow hips.

"Welcome back," the blonde host bubbled, standing in front of the barricades of the crowds, preparing to interview the intrepid souls that had staked out their place and secured it at the front of the rows. "Let's interview a few more of our visitors. Where are you visiting us from?"

"Konoha!" A voice chirped merrily, followed by one that sniffled, one that was brash, one that was sly, and one…

One that caught Tenten's attention immediately and made her heart stutter to a stop.

Even so, she couldn't tear her eyes from her zipper pull.

"Konoha," the host said, a hand to her heart. "That is quite a way to travel! What brings you here?"

There was an interminable fluttering of her heart before  _that_  voice continued. "I came to see about a girl."

"A girl!" the host cooed. "Does she know you are here?"

"Not yet," she imagined the half smile on lips that so rarely quirked into a full smile – only on those rare times they were together and…

"Not yet," the host repeated. "But you want her to know you are here?"

"Here and waiting," he added, and even if she wanted to, Tenten couldn't have kept her eyes averted any longer. They snapped to the television where she her heart wrenched to see oh-so-familiar eyes staring back at her.

"I see," the host grinned slyly. "And do you have a message for this special person?"

"I was wrong," he said, unblinking. "And I'll do whatever it takes to find her and tell her as much, and make it right."

A strangled sound escaped Tenten – wrenched from her gut – to hang in the air of the apartment even as she pressed her hands to her mouth and tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked.

"Even come all the way from Konoha," the woman breathed.

The man gave a wry smile. "I was  _really_  wrong."

"Well, then," she gave him a knowing smile. "Then I guess I wish you good luck."

The cameras cut to another host and another interview, and Tenten stayed rooted to the spot.

The sound of turning locks snapped her back to a reality she wasn't sure was real.

"Looks like they were at West 44th," Shisui stood at the door. "So…?"

Tenten looked at her cousin, eyes wide, heart pounding. But when he raised his eyebrows at her, she could only nod, dumbly, and follow.

Later, she wouldn't be able to recall the run as more than a blur of cold and people and air burning in her lungs while her heart leapt in anticipation. As they neared the blocked off streets, Shisui got ahead of her by a few paces and flashed his badge. Security nodded, and muttered into their earpieces, and Tenten met with no resistance as she negotiated the crowds, her heart in her throat.

It thrummed one name – one thought with every beat, every footfall, every breath – driving all else out of her mind and being. And when she finally got close enough that he was standing there, it fell from her lips.

"Neji."

He turned sharply, and she saw the anxiety and doubt and fear in the lines of his body and creases of his mouth. She stood, chest heaving, until he realized it wasn't a trick. He took a steadying breath and ventured:

"Tenten…?"

And there was a universe in that ellipse – a lifetime crammed into the small space of a question. A lifetime he'd walked away from, and so desperately wanted back.

She stood in that vast expanse, unsure, lost, and ready to run the other direction and never look back if he turned away from her now.

But he didn't.

His eyes were locked onto hers like she was the most precious thing in the entire world – like she hadn't just run at a relentless pace across city and park and crowd and cold to stand before him as open and honestly as she always had.

She couldn't – and didn't – move.

And he did the one thing she didn't anticipate.

"Please," his voice was low and raw and thick with fears unspoken. "Please don't go. Stay. For as long as you wish, and without obligation, but please…." He was a hairsbreadth away from her now. "Please, stay."

There were more miles crammed into that centimeter between them than the distance between Konoha and the Big City, and she wondered if she could traverse such a distance before he disappeared at the stroke of midnight.

And it was almost midnight.

The crowd was counting down the last minute of the year as she stood separated by the unfathomable chasm between them.

"Tenten," his voice was low, and pleading. "Please… say something."

She blinked up at him, wondering what the right words were.

"You're an ass."

To his credit, he barely flinched.

"How can I stay?" the tears prickled at her throat. "I didn't leave – I was left behind. I came here," she motioned to the chanting crowd and the fast-disappearing seconds of the year, "because there was nothing left for me in Konoha."

She shook her head.

"Asking me to stay… is asking me to stay here. To stay away from you." She pinned him with an unflinching gaze, even as her stomach twisted into knots. "Is that what you want?"

"Wherever you want to be," he clenched his hands at his side. "That is where I want to be. I don't care where it is – as long as you are there."

"Until when, Neji," she gave a helpless sigh. "The next board meeting?"

"I quit the board," he bit out. "I'll leave it all behind if it means being with you. Living with you. Loving you..." he took a breath and steadied himself. "It was so easy to love you," he exhaled. "You made it so easy and I? I took it for granted. But when I returned to Konoha and you were gone – when you changed your number and no one would tell me where you went –" words failed him as he shook his head. "I've never felt so lost in my life."

She barked out what might have been a laugh or it might have been a sob.

"All I want," he dared to reach for her hands, "is to come home. And home is wherever you are. I won't ask you to come back to me," he wound their fingers together, "just that you let me come to you."

The last fractions of the old year were suspended between them, and Tenten blinked as the world slowed until it was only the two of them. With a gasp and a sob, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tightly against her, murmuring into his ear.

"Welcome home, Neji."

And as the clock struck midnight, her lips were on his – or perhaps his were on hers – and the new year started with a fresh and tenuous hope, and Neji and Tenten were as inseparable as they'd ever been.

Neji spotted the reporter first, and grabbed Tenten's hand. With a knowing smile, she grabbed his back, and they disappeared into the crowd, ignoring the applause and the catcalls and the cheers knowing they were nothing compared to the fireworks waiting for them back home.

And when they woke the next morning, tangled in the sheets and one another, the future had never looked brighter.

"Happy New Year, Neji," she murmured against his skin. 

He drew her against himself and kissed the top of her head.

"Happy New Year, Tenten."

* * *

_Happy New Year, friends! Wishing you nothing but the very best 2018 has to offer!_

_\- Giada_


	25. Drive Me Crazy: Swerve

_Moving right along!_

* * *

**Drive Me Crazy  
-**  
**Swerve**

* * *

When Kakashi sent Neji the memo that they'd be meeting to discuss the case, he'd assumed he'd be summoned to his superior's office, and arrived for his appointment accordingly.

"Oh, good," Shizune – Kakashi's long-time assistant – smiled as she stood from her desk. "Kakashi said that you'd be early."

"Force of habit," Neji gave a small shrug. "Is he in?"

"Actually, he decided to relocate the meeting offsite. He asked that you gather everything you need to discuss the case, and join him. Here is the address."

Neji took the slip of paper, mentally reviewing his travel option.

Shizune's phone buzzed – her mobile this time, and she answered it without preamble. "Yes sir?" she glanced up at Neji. "Yes, he is here. Yes," she smiled. "Early." She listened for a moment or two more, before checking her watch for the time. "Very good sir, I can call a cab if.. oh? Alright. I shall let him know."

Shizune ended the call and pocketed her phone before quickly gathering a stack of files. "That was the Captain. He asked you to bring these as well," she handed over the files, "and said that your ride is waiting."

Neji paused, files in hand.

"My ride?"

"Yes, and he said he bet her she wouldn't park in the Chief's spot… so…"

"Understood," Neji tucked the files into his laptop bag, and hurried to the stairs.

Neji yanked open the passenger door, and got into the car, hastening to fasten his belt.

Tenten was innocently studying her nails.

"In a hurry?"

"Kakashi tell you what the Chief did to the last person that parked in his spot?"

Tenten shrugged. And Neji spotted the Chief.

"You know how I'm always telling you NOT to drive the way you drive?"

"Mm-hm?"

"Forget that, and drive."

Tenten's grin grew wide and wicked.

"With pleasure."

* * *

Thirty minutes into the meeting and Neji still wasn't quite back to his normal color.

Tenten leaned over and whispered "Are you alright?"

"No," he muttered. "And I didn't mean for you to drive that way the  _whole_  way."

"All or nothing," she shrugged, and turned her attention back to the meeting.

Genma Shiranui was something of an elite in the world of security, and the longstanding head of the Governor's security team. He had been the one to suggest outsourcing the Governor's personal and home security citing flexibility matters, but largely because it put the cost (and Madam Shijimi's demands) back on the Governor and not on Konoha. He worked closely with Gaara and Sabaku Securities to ensure that all was in order, and was very happy to have his interaction with Madam Shijimi held to a minimum.

"So, what became of the burglar Neji was chasing," Shikamaru asked, leaning back in his chair.

"We identified him," Gaara nodded to Kankuro, who changed an image on the screen. "His name was Karashi. He was a last-minute replacement for the intended burglar, and was not a party to the gang or its workings. We suspect that the organization got a tip off about the police operation, and sent someone they wouldn't mind getting caught."

"That explains his driving," Tenten wove her pencil through her fingers. "He was reckless, but he knew the area well enough. Did they give him a specific route to drive?"

"It sounds like they did," Gaara agreed. "He practiced driving it several times – which leads me to believe they wanted the car found."

"Oh?" Neji darted a glance at Tenten. "Why is that?"

"There was a great place to lose a tail about five blocks from where we ended the chase," she traced a route in the air with her pencil. "If I had been planning a get-away, I would've jumped at that – and if he had taken that route that night, I don't know that we would've caught him. I'm guessing they didn't mind if Karashi got caught."

"And we did catch him?" Neji asked, swallowing his irritation.

"We found him," Kakashi admitted, "but he is under surveillance. It is clear that he was a one-time contact for the job. His mother is in poor health, and an inside source tells me some outstanding medical bills were just paid off unexpectedly."

"Hm," Neji sat back in his seat. "And no one has questioned him?"

"Not officially," Kakashi shrugged. "Let's just say our intel is good on this one. We don't think there are any plans to involve him again."

"So back to square one?" Tenten asked, her lips pulled into a frown.

"That is what we need the enemy to think," Genma winked at her. "My sources say that they are looking for another driver; that means another attempted burglary. Also, we are fairly certain there has been inside help in these jobs. We've identified several potential targets; the trick now is to get a handle on the players in the game."

"And how are we doing that?" Neji arched an eyebrow.

"So glad you asked," Genma's eyes sparked. "I do hope you got your tux mended after that fiasco at the Officer's Ball last year, Detective. You're going to need it."

* * *

The original plan had been for Tenten to attend several of these events in the background – as part of the security or wait staff – and to observe (and probably snoop) while Neji mingled and gathered more information.

That had been the plan.

Unfortunately, the Governor's niece disrupted their plans in a way no one had considered.

It all started when she made a formal call at Lady Hyūga's, both to deliver an invitation, and hoping to see Hanabi. Naho being Naho (a former-self-centered-brat who was still in recovery and prone to assuming whatever worked best for her worked best for everyone) hadn't bothered to call first, and wouldn't be detained, even when Kō tried to explain that Lady Hinata was already with a guest.

"No need to show me the way, Kō," she'd said kindly as she handed her things to him. "They'll be in the Day room, won't they?"

"But Miss!"

Naho didn't hear the rest, as she happily hummed to herself and made her way to where she assumed Hinata would be.

"Hello, girls!" she announced, sweeping into the room, and earning a variety of looks from the women there. Hinata was politely surprised, Hanabi looked incredulous (Naho interpreted this as 'surprised' and 'excited') and the third woman did little more than arch an eyebrow.

"Naho?" Hanabi blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Bringing invitations," she held up the cards in her hand. "What else? Ah! Kō – see I told you I could find them," she motioned to Hyūga women. "Oh, is that your hot chocolate?" She looked at Hanabi's cup. "How wonderful! You remember how I like it don't you?"

Kō flicked a glance to Hinata who gave an imperceptible nod.

"Of course, Miss. I will be right back."

"There now," she grinned and handed the girls an envelope each before plopping down into a chair between the sisters. "Oh!" she reached for the plate "Kō's scones! It's been ages since I-"

"Naho," Hanabi interrupted. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you," she frowned prettily. "I am bringing by the invitations for Auntie's party."

"I meant," Hanabi tried not to glower. "What are you doing here  _now._ "

"Well, I could hardly wait to get them to you, could I?" she laughed lightly. "The responses have to be back soon and you won't want to miss out on that! Besides, I  _told_ you I was in town visiting."

"For a month," Hanabi said flatly, "and you might've mentioned coming here."

"Last minute decision," she shrugged. "You know how it gets over there – I needed a break. So!" she acknowledged Tenten for the first time. "I've not seen you here before – I'm Naho. Naho Shijimi."

Tenten simply smiled and offered, "Nice to meet you."

Naho blinked at her; when the expected reaction to her name didn't follow, she asked with a sort of pitiful sweetness, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"I'm not," Tenten agreed, with a good-natured smile (as Hanabi face-palmed and Hinata hid a smile). "At least not originally."

"Oh? Where originally?" she asked, half acknowledging Kō as he put down a large mug of hot chocolate on the table, as well as a small bowl of marshmallows and some more baked goods. Hinata murmured her thanks while Naho took a large sip, ignoring Kō and focusing on Tenten.

"Just a small town," Tenten shrugged. "I doubt you would have heard of it."

"I don't really know many small towns," Naho chuckled. "Mostly a big city girl. Unless of course you count Uncle's summer home, but I don't think that really counts."

"No," Hanabi muttered into her drink. "It doesn't."

"And how are you finding Konoha?" Naho asked.

"I am enjoying my time here," a smile tugged at her lips, and her eyes sparked mischief.

"Staying with the Hyūgas?"

"No," she grinned, thinking about how that would make the Detective shudder. "I just came by to say hello. I can come back another time," she looked to the sisters.

"Did you drive?" Naho interjected. "Perhaps my driver can give you a lift?"

Tenten's smile remained easy (and Naho really did think she was being kind by offering a ride and freeing up her friends, rather than rudely ejecting their guest) as she took her keys out of her pocket. "I'm good."

Naho's light air shifted dramatically as she inhaled sharply, her hand flying to her chest. "What," she froze, "is that?!"

Tenten frowned. "Is what?"

"That!" Naho squeaked, pointing an accusing finger at Tenten.

"My keys?" she asked, eyes darting between the sisters for an explanation. Hinata just looked baffled, but Hanabi's eyes were round, and she mouthed something that looked like 'oh, shit.'

"That keychain!" Naho sputtered.

"My keychain," Tenten looked at her keys, and then half laughed. "This? It's not real, or anything – it's just supposed to look like a-"

"A shuriken," Naho interrupted. "Limited edition Rising Twin Dragon Tenth Anniversary memorabilia, but the only ones with that emblem were given to cast and the production team and –"

Her eyes widened, and her draw droped. "You're Tian Hoshi!"

Tenten blinked as Hanabi tried not to groan, and Hinata remained placidly alert.

"I am," she admitted, as there was little else to do.

"Oh my god – oh my GOD – Hanabi!" she whirled on her friend. "How could you not tell me you know Tian Hoshi?! How could you not tell me she'd be  ** _here_**."

"Gee," Hanabi deadpanned. "I don't know, what with all the advance notice you gave before coming over…"

"I watched all of your movies as a kid," she turned back to Tenten. "I was just talking about you the other day! I overheard some guests at one of Auntie's soiree's talking about get away cars, and chase scenes, and some race in downtown Konoha that started near the neighbor's house, and – well!- nothing could compare to the work that you did on your last race scene! And now you are here? What are the odds?"

"Yeah," Tenten met Hinata's eyes, suddenly alert. "What are the odds?"

"Naho," Hinata gently interrupted. "Who were you talking to?"

"Oh, just some of the younger crowd," she waved the question away. "Those gatherings are so frightfully boring – but they would kill to meet you! Whatever petty little race they have must be no match for your skills! OH!" her eyes got even wider. "Here!" she snatched Hanabi's unopened invitation up and shoved it at Tenten. "You  _have_  to come! It will be so much more interesting with you there! Ah!" she gasped. "Do you think your parents would be able to come?"

"Seriously?" Hanabi threw her hands up in frustration.

"Sorry," Tenten smiled. "But their schedules are really full right now."

"Of course, they are," Naho nodded enthusiastically. "But you'll come, won't you?"

Tenten was trying to decide what answer would piss Neji off the least when Hinata came to her rescue.

"We should let Tian check her schedule," she admonished Naho gently – but firmly. "She has many commitments, you know."

"Oh, of course, of  _course_ ," Naho bobbed her head furiously. "Do you need to go now? I mean, I understand if you do, but should-"

"Ms. Naho?" Ko appeared at the door. "Forgive me, but your Uncle has just sent someone to collect you – he says your Aunt is most eager to see you."

Naho looked crestfallen.

"So soon?"

"I'll walk you," Hanabi jumped up and grabbed Naho's elbow.

"Sure," she nodded, deflated. "I hope you can come, Tian," she gave a genuine smile to Tenten. "Really – It would be nice to get to know you."

With that, Hanabi steered her out of the room, leaving Tenten to sink back into her seat, and toy with her keys.

"So," she tried for levity. "How much will that mistake cost us?"

"Very little, I should think," Hinata's smile was small and knowing. "Madam Shijimi is terrible with names and faces. If you go to the party as Tian, she will only see Tian. She will not connect you to 'Tenten.' I'll mention the change to the appropriate people; I think you will find many won't make the connection."

"But what about what she overheard," Tenten frowned. "Could there be something in that?"

"There could," Hinata allowed. "And even if someone isn't bold enough to solicit your help, they might try and pick your brain for someone they might ask."

"True," Tenten allowed. "Now the real question. How will Neji take this?"

"That, depends, I suppose," Hinata smirked into her teacup "on what you wear to the party."

* * *

Neji hated parties. At least he hated the kinds of parties given by dignitaries with too little to do. Hinata told him about Naho's discovery, but she seemed to think it might be to their benefit in the long run.

He supposed he should have remembered Naho running around with her twin buns as a child – but he hadn't made the connection that it was in honor of her favorite child-of-film-stars-turned-actress-turned-stunt-double. More importantly, he was relying on the girls to figure out if there was anything to what Naho had overheard.

Known to be stoic and quiet, many people gave him his space at these functions, but he did not have the gift of invisibility here that he might elsewhere. Also, it was known that he was a detective, so it was unlikely that anyone would repeat things in his hearing. Kakashi had sent him a message at the last minute that there would be another agent providing backup, and he mentally ran through who that might be. Either Uchiha might make sense, although they weren't strictly expected at these sorts of events. Naruto had a great way of getting along with people, but he wasn't a great social fit here.

"You look tense," Genma approached and handed Neji a drink. "Here."

"What is this?" he stared at the glass suspiciously.

"Nothing to knock you on your ass," Genma snorted into his glass. "I'll leave that for other variables."

Neji took a careful taste, and was pleased to find it was tolerable.

"So, I got someone last minute to come to this thing," Genma lowered his voice. "Given the new intel, it had to be someone younger than we had originally intended to send."

"Younger?" Neji frowned. "Like how young?"

"Like maybe most people don't know he's already graduated from the academy, young."

Irritation roiled in his gut.

"Please don't tell me you asked who I think you asked."

"Sorry," Genma shrugged as the former Mayor of Konoha walked in with his Grandson in tow. "But he's the age of the guys Naho mentioned. It's a good fit."

"Perfect," Neji now decided he needed a stronger drink. "Now I can babysit, too."

"Oh, I don't know," Genma's eyes slid to where Hanabi and Hinata were entering. "But if that doesn't knock you on your ass, then nothing will."

Neji grimaced at the glass. "It doesn't seem that strong."

"It isn't" Genma agreed. "But that," Neji followed his gaze across the room. "Is another story entirely."

Neji found himself staring at his cousins and their guest – who no longer looked anything like the woman who'd scared the life out of him every time she drove.

"Bottoms up," Genma smirked. "You're going to need it."

Neji downed the rest of his drink without a word, and hoped it was the alcohol burning in his chest, and not anything resembling attraction to his partner.

* * *

"Tian" was a hit. As the evening progressed, she was given more invitations to more parties, lunches, and other events.

Neji had to admit she had a natural way about her that put others at ease – something that made her appear approachable. She was charming, really; an intelligent and generous conversationalist, who did a remarkable job of encouraging the other party to do the talking without feeling as if that were the case.

Neji wasn't sure what he had been expecting – perhaps the two-bun hairstyle and an outfit reminiscent of something from her mother's movies – but what he saw took him completely aback.

Belatedly, he reminded himself that she had been around film her whole life; he shouldn't be surprised she would know how to alter her appearance so completely. However, the more he considered her, he thought perhaps he was seeing less of an altered appearance, and more of what was already there. Her smile was familiar, even if the darkened lips were not, and her eyes still snapped with the same wit and humor.

"Ugh," Hanabi sidled up to him as she snagged a drink and nodded toward Tenten. "I'd  _kill_  to be able to contour like that. If you didn't know that was her – you'd never know that was her."

Neji disagreed with that statement – he had a strong feeling he'd know Tenten anywhere – with or without her lead foot – but declined to comment.

"Did you help her find a gown?"

"Nope – she had that at home," Hanabi motioned to the qipao cocktail dress. "She said she wanted to wear something to match Naho's expectations without wearing her hair in buns. She pretty much nailed it."

"Mm," Neji hummed his agreement, knowing there was nothing he could say that wouldn't pique his curiosity.

"Let me get you a fresh drink," a new voice said cordially, and Neji turned in time to see Konohamaru plucking Hanabi's drink away and replacing it with another from a passing tray.

Neji arched an eyebrow at him.

"Need something?"

Konohamaru gave a knowing look to Hanabi who smiled.

"Alright," She grinned. "You win. He is always all work."

"I know," he slipped an arm around her shoulders. "That is why I asked you go over first. If you will excuse us," he lifted his glass to Neji, "we are going to go hang out with some of the younger people – particularly the ones with fast cars."

Neji's irritation shifted at that remark.

"Don't involve my cousin unnecessarily," he said in a low, steely voice.

"I fully intend to enjoy Hanabi's company in earnest," Konohamaru promised them both, tucking her arm in his. "Or did you forget that we are actually friends? Besides," he lowered his voice. "You might need to go run interference for Tenten. Naho might've lost her to Chikara."

A smirk tugged at Neji's lips.

"Then there is no hurry."

"True," Hanabi shrugged. "If he gets touchy she might just kill him."

Neji paled and Konohamaru pointed.

* * *

Tenten was having a really hard time deciding what was actually going on. Somehow she'd drifted into a strange circle of conversation and was finding herself faced with the most ridiculous caricature of a human being she'd ever encountered off of a movie set.

He called himself Chikara, but all Tenten could think was "Blond Elvis Impersonator – the Vegas years." She'd seen him talking to other guests and had already figured out he considered himself to be romantic, and she deftly managed to stay out of arms reach. It didn't take long to realize he was sweetly self-absorbed and meant no real harm, but that didn't mean Tenten was going to pretend to be affected by his charms.

She was more interested in the man that had been quietly watching from the side – since she had been there in fact. He hadn't been obvious in his attentions, but she had noticed him watching. Genma noticed, too, and made a point not to be too far from her during the evening. But Chikara had monopolized her conversation, and any other would-be participants had slipped away.

Tenten was beginning to feel a bit cornered.

"So, my lady," he winked broadly and plucked a rose from a nearby arrangement. "I heard that you have quite the heart for adventure – quite the accomplished stuntwoman!"

"I've been around it a long time," she allowed with a small chuckle.

"Then your knight in shining armor must work twice as hard to catch your attention," he offered her the rose. "Do you have a knight?"

"Poor bastard is probably stuck in a tree somewhere," she shrugged. "But I'm not much for needing saving."

"Everyone needs a little saving," he said, lowering his voice in what was probably supposed to be a sultry way.

"Nope," Tenten's voice was overly bright. "I'm good!" Perhaps belatedly she wondered if there was a polite way out of this situation that would prevent her from having to harm one of the guests of the Governor who she was quickly realizing was too thick to fathom her indifference.

"Still," he offered the rose, and began to close the distance between them.

Tenten had a horrifying three seconds where she was certain he was going to try and kiss her before a warm hand gently grasped her elbow.

"Miss Hoshi," Neji said, the calm baritone of his voice a very welcome melody in her ears. "Lady Huyga asked if I would find you."

"Lady Huyga," Chikara blinked, before tipping his head to the side. "You know Lady Huyga?"

"She is a particular favorite of my younger cousin and Lady Naho. Lady Huyga would like Ms. Hoshi to meet some other guests."

"Well then, by all means!" Chikara took Tenten's hand and kissed it. "Another time, perhaps."

"Perhaps," she said, keeping her smile in place before allowing Neji to lead her away.

"Okay," she breathed as they moved to a quieter part of the party. "I was wrong."

"About?"

"Turns out I do need a knight," she wrapped her arm more tightly in his. "Thanks for showing up in the nick of time – although, for future reference, avoid that cliché and just avoid ASAP."

"Noted," Neji smiled to himself, and steered her toward where Hinata was engaged in pleasant conversation with pleasant people.

"I have a good bit to catch you up on," Tenten leaned over and murmured in his ear. "Will you go back to Hinata's tonight?"

"You are staying there tonight?"

"Genma insisted for alibi purposes," she agreed. "To distract from my day job, I guess."

"I will come by, then," he agreed.

"Ok, but for now," she held on to his arm. "Don't go far, alright?"

Something in Neji's chest lit brightly with the press of her fingers, and a small grin twitched his lips.

"As you wish, My Lady."

Tenten nudged him playfully, her smile a brilliant thing, and he couldn't help but smile in return.

* * *

_The notes notes noestf_


	26. I Fell Down a Well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From a Tumblr prompt. It was supposed to be "write a summary of the story you would write using title prompt X." I never was good with directions...

 

* * *

**–I Fell Down a Well–**

* * *

There were stories about the archaic network of wells on the Hyūga lands - many of which had long been boarded up or cemented over.

"They are dangerous," his Uncle had warned sternly. "You and your cousins are never to go near them."

It seemed everyone knew of someone who knew of someone that had been unfortunate enough to stumble upon one of the old structures, with a wide array of dire consequences. Tales of broken limbs or necks or bodies never recovered were told aplenty, and Neji had heard them long enough relegate them to cautionary folklore and ignore them accordingly.

But the old woman in the village - the one with the clay pipe perpetually clamped between her teeth- told a different sort of story.

"Fools, the lot of 'em," she declared, jabbing the air with the stem of her pipe as the sweet smoke curled out of it to hang as lazy wisps in the air. "Plenty o'folk been too dim to mind their way 'round bits of old rock and deep holes. But that ain't the danger of the wells," her eyes danced. "That's just stupidity, plain and simple."

"And what is the danger of the wells?" Neji asked one day, bored from waiting too long for Hanabi to finish her lessons, and craning his neck to see if Natsu would appear, his impish cousin in tow.

"Not Danger," she corrected with a broad wink. "Magic."

"Nonsense," he snorted, but she took no offense.

"All the same, young Lord," her smile was slow. "Be wary 'round the wells. They can play queer tricks on an able-bodied young man like thysel'."

He thought no more of her words nor wells until nearly a fortnight later, when his Uncle called him to into his study.

"There have been …reports," his Uncle began, hands clasped behind his back, his face pinched into a displeased expression. "Some of the wells have become unstable. I have sent for an expert to inspect and repair them. You will serve as their escort and guide."

Neji frowned lightly. "Is the damage so extensive that our own masons and artisans cannot repair it?"

Neji was certain he imagined the blush creeping up his Uncle's neck, as Hyūgas  _never_  did something as undignified as blush (with the exception of his shy cousin Hinata who he deemed to be too gentle-hearted to be bounded by such strictures.)

"It is," he said with a tight finality that invited no question. "Access to the affected wells is currently forbidden. Only you and those under your supervision may pass."

"It shall be as you say," he nodded, even if the unfamiliar taste of curiosity lingered under his tongue. The taste grew into an appetite two days later, when Kō came to find him.

"You must hurry to your Uncle's study," he said, slightly out of breath. "The expert has come about the wells."

Neji did hurry, but the odd air in Kō's manner hadn't escaped him.

"Is Uncle not pleased with whomever they sent?"

"He was expecting them to send Kakashi," Kō hurried to explain. "But he was called away. There was an outbreak of sickness between his last assignment and here, so he asked that another be dispatched in his stead, lest he bring tainted air with him."

"Mm," Neji hummed. "I have often heard Uncle speak of Kakashi's skill. I can imagine there would be few replacements he would find acceptable."

Kō, just nodded, and rapped lightly on the door to the study, before opening it and letting Neji pass by him.

Hiashi was studying a roll of parchment intently, while a young woman – probably Neji's age – stood with a confident grace in front of his desk.

"Ah, Neji," Hiashi motioned him forward. "Come."

Neji moved silently to stand at his Uncle's elbow, who had gone back to reading. Neji was not rude enough to read over his shoulder, but he did happen to catch a few key phrases.

" _with apologies… trust you will find her to be a most capable replacement… has been long and well trained by… send one with our protective ward to accompany…. "_

He glanced up at the girl, whom he was surprised to find studying him openly. Her eyes danced with amusement behind her deferential mask, and she winked at him so quickly, he half fancied he imagined it (were he one prone to such flights of fancy.)

"Your credentials are most impressive, young lady," Hiashi placed the scroll on the desk. "But this is a most delicate assignment. I confess myself not wholly convinced that you – or any person who is not Kakashi - will be up to the task."

"That is fair," she shrugged. "We have not met before now, and Kakashi's reputation is longstanding with good reason. However, Kakashi asked specifically that I be sent, and our Master agreed. He asked me to be remembered to you and sent tea from his gardens."

"Master Sarutobi did?" Hiashi asked, his disbelief perhaps more tentative in the face of excellent tea.

"He did," she nodded, and Neji thought there was a tug of amusement at her lips as Kō produced the cannister and placed it on his desk. "He hoped that this might serve as a token of mutual respect and allay any fears regarding my assignment."

"Is that so…," he mused, drumming his fingers on the desk. He must have made his decision, as his next words were: "Very well, then. This is my nephew, Neji," he motioned to him. "He shall be your guide, and my eyes."

Neji felt himself stand straighter as she shifted her quick, and intelligent eyes to him with a sort of pert frankness that made his heart beat more quickly.

"Well met," she gave a polite nod of her head. "Shall we leave at once, Neji?"

There was a split second where Neji was certain he had forgotten how to speak, and certainly had no idea how to even pluck a sensical reply from his dizzied brain and shove it off of his tongue, but thankfully years of protocol were ingrained in his very being, for he heard himself answer:

"Should my Uncle wish it."

"Go," Hiashi waved a hand. "Ready your horse. Kō, see that this…" he peered at the document, "Tenten has what she needs, and then show her to the stables."

Neji and Kō chorused their consent, and Neji bowed, exiting before the others. The strange heat on his neck and twist of his gut had dulled by the time he had his horse ready, and Kō led Tenten's horse to join him. It took less than two minutes of riding for it to return.

Assured she could handle a slightly more rigorous pace, he urged his horse forward to the nearest of the wells.

Tenten dismounted and inspected the structure – this one had been boarded up, and she removed the dried wood with ease.

"Boarding up a well," she muttered under her breath. "As if that would help." She knelt and peered at the masonry, running her hand over the stone and removing old moss, all the while humming to herself.

"Ah," she breathed. "Here is the original seal… and the maintenance ones… My. Not much done to these wells for quite some time. Some…Twenty-six years or so?" She looked to Neji for confirmation.

"I could not say," he shrugged. "I have only seen five and twenty summers."

"As have I," she beamed. "And what lovely summers they have been." She turned her attention back to the well, and carefully placed several seals scrawled on paper. "There," she gave a satisfied nod. "That will stabilize things until I can move on to repairs. Better move to the next one."

"Is there a reason to delay the repairs?" Neji asked, his lips pulling into a frown.

"Several," she stood and brushed herself off. "At least until I can stabilize and secure the main well. I'd start there, but that might prove to be more trouble than it is worth."

"Why?" Neji asked. "How does the order of mending broken wells matter?"

Her laugh was light, and her smile was impish.

"You really don't know, do you?"

His frown deepened.

"Know what?"

But she shook her head and rode on. There was another well over the crest of a hill, and she looked at him expectantly. "Sense anything?"

Neji stilled on his mount's back and listened.

"Not from up there," she rolled her eyes. "From over here."

Neji slid off his horse with no prompting and stood by the well.

He listened intently, but no sounds outside of the wind in the trees and the alternate warmth of dappled sunlight and shadow caught his attention.

She knelt and inspected the stonework, taking a moment to whisper to the small flower growing from a crevice in the stone.

Neji watched her, unsure if she was mad, or if he was truly missing something. On impulse he reached a hand out, and his fingers brushed the well. An unexpected warmth bled under his fingertips, and something hummed in his ears. He snatched his hand back, but her eyes snapped onto his.

"It…it is warm," he ventured, reaching out again.

"Mm," she put a hand next to his on the stone. "So, it is." She studied him carefully for a moment, before narrowing her eyes at his neck.

"What do you wear?"

Neji reflexively pulled the amulet out of his shirt and held it in his palm. "It was my father's."

She studied it, and something secret twitched her smile. "That is a strong protection spell," she said calmly. "Keep it close."

"Spell," Neji scoffed, and quickly replaced the amulet under his shirt. "You and that old woman in town."

"Old women have a way of knowing things," she shrugged, and placed another seal on the well.

"They have a way of imagining things," Neji muttered.

"Like the warmth of stone, even though it sits in heavy shade?"

Neji stopped and reflexively looked at the well. The place he had brushed was completely shaded – and would have been for most of the day. He looked back to Tenten, but she had already crossed to her horse.

Another well, another warmth to the brick. He began to think he heard something like music far away, and the smell of honeysuckle hung in the air, even though it was hardly the season.

"I thought the wells were unsafe," he finally said.

"Oh, they are," she agreed. "Just not in the way you were probably expecting."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You're from a big clan, right?"

The change of subject caught him off guard, but he answered. "I am."

"Ever wonder how it got so big?"

Neji frowned.

"I don't follow."

"Alright," She rocked back on her heels. "When did the clan really get established?"

"Our numbers solidified about…fifty years ago?" he guessed.

"Judging from these seals, probably more like seventy," she motioned to the wells. "Looks like these have been sealed for about that long, give or take."

"And that is… significant?"

"It is if your Uncle doesn't want another massive generation to deal with," she snorted. "The estate would overflow. Speaking, of," she looked past him to a worn path. "I think the main well is down there. Better wait for me here; I won't be long."

"I have to escort you," he replied. "Those are my orders."

"Don't worry," she shrugged. "I won't tell your Uncle."

She began down the path, but he swung down from his horse to follow.

Tenten shook her head. "Suit yourself."

He followed behind her nimble footsteps, watching the worn path for any obstruction. He was surprised when it widened and opened into a clearing. He stopped at the edge.

"I have never been here," he admitted.

"It's sealed," she said dismissively. "You probably couldn't find it without me."

"This isn't just a well," he looked around, seeing the stone structures and the series of paved paths winding into the surrounding woods.

"No," Tenten agreed. "It isn't. It's a shrine. This would have been an entry point. Down there," she pointed to a path, "there is probably a hot spring. And there," she pointed to another, "gardens. Maybe a vineyard long ago."

"A shrine to what?" Neji asked.

"To the Goddess, of course," Tenten snorted.

"Goddess," Neji blinked. "Of what?"

"Love, prosperity and fertility. These lands were said to be hers, and she and her children dug and protected the wells. The had other jobs as well," she began to tick them off on her fingers. "One of her children was said to hunt down faithless lovers, another to pierce the hearts of those too cold to love. One watched over mothers and young children – it's a whole family affair. The way I hear it," she leaned back against the well, "your people came to this area and settled the land. They didn't listen to the old legends and drank from the old wells."

"Are they unsafe?"

"They won't kill you, if that is what you are asking," she laughed. "All of the wells we've seen, including this one, connect to the same source. That source is runs right through a forest of trees like mangroves. Their roots dye the water, and feed into it. Their fruit is an aphrodisiac, but so is the water. Your people drank the water, ate the fruit, and suddenly there were lots more of you, if you get my meaning."

Neji's flush affirmed that he did.

"So, your clan leaders called in my Master to seal the wells and remove the trees that weren't part of the sacred grove."

"But that isn't magic," Neji frowned. "That is botany."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you didn't have your amulet on," she grinned. "There was definitely a heaping dose of magic in all of that. The children of the goddess were quite persistent, and one in particular had a whole army of sprites willing to help. The Master's master taught him the seals, and how to make offerings to the wee folk. I would wager your Uncle keeps up the tradition in secret, or there'd be more Hyūgas than food around here."

"Ridiculous," Neji crossed his arms.

Tenten shrugged. "It's no matter. I laid the groundwork for the seals. It will take a couple of days to make sure they are all layered properly, but as long as your Uncle continues to leave the offerings, everything should be alright."

"Offerings," Neji narrowed his eyes.

"Naturally," Tenten blinked. "That is part of why this area is sealed. The offerings must not be disturbed."

"How convenient," Neji narrowed his eyes. "And who does your Master have collecting those offerings? Clever to send someone to us – or have you been around all along, harvesting goods and exploiting my family? And when did you decide to incorporate this," he pulled the amulet from his shirt, "into your story?"

"Neji," her eyes went wide, "Don't-"

"No, really, it was a stroke of genius – I admire the touch," his eyes sparked challenge. "But let's drop all manner of pretense, shall we?"

He took of the amulet and stared at her in triumph for a whole half of a second.

And then his world exploded.

There was light and music, and the air was heady with a perfume that seeped into his skin and roiled in his veins. He inhaled sharply, and warmth bloomed in his chest, and spread through his body, firing off every nerve in the process.

He met her eyes and felt the connection down to his soul.

"Neji?" she ventured carefully. "Are you alright?"

Neji was better than alright. He was euphoric.

"You are beautiful," he blurted out, and her eyes widened. "That is what I have been thinking since the moment I met you. I can't remember the last time I thought a person was beautiful."

"Mm-hm," she nodded. "Well, thank you, that is very kind. How about we put your amulet back on, and then we can -"

"No!" he jerked it behind his back. "No, not yet. I'm not done."

"Of course, you're not," she raked a hand down her face.

"I've dreamed of you," he continued. "Don't ask me how, but I have!"

"Naturally," she deadpanned, "seeing as we met  _literally_  hours ago."

"Your aim is perfect," he continued. "You work hard, and when that doesn't work, you work harder. You love your adopted brother, Lee. You don't know your parents, and that might be why you work so hard to earn a place. You know what it is like not to have one."

She blinked up at him.

"How could you know that?" she breathed.

"No idea," he reached for her hand and put it on his heart. "But I know it is true."

Tenten's face fell.

"The magic is too strong here," she said gently. "I should've made you wait by the horse, you-"

Neji – the perfect, proper, paragon of propriety – kissed her.

It was sudden, and as respectful as an ambush of that nature could be, but without explanation, Tenten found her eyes drifting closed as they melded together in a way she knew couldn't just be a side effect wrought by proximity to the well. Her protective amulet was still solidly in place (as well as several other wards, spells, sutras, and a tattoo) so she had no other explanation for her immediate and intense reaction. She also wasn't sure when she'd wrapped her legs around him, or when he'd propped her up on the sealed well.

His lips were at her jaw, neck and collarbone, even as he drew her closer.

"The amulet," he breathed against her skin and racing heart. "You have to- I won't be able to stop this, and-"

She allowed herself to silence him with a few more ferocious kisses before taking the amulet from him and draping it around his neck. They heaved in each other's air, foreheads pressed together, even as they tried to calm the storm between them.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, his hands still firm on her hips. "I've never… I don't know what…"

Her grin was slow. "I'm not."

She pressed her lips to his gently – tenderly – and he replied in kind. It was several long, long moments before she offered. "It really will take me several days to make sure the wells are secured, and the seals restored. Perhaps you should wait with the horses when I work."

"Not a chance," he pulled her closer. "I assure you my self-control can be exemplary."

She chuckled against his lips.

"So, I see."

How they got the work done, he would never really know – but it did get done. The Master sent word asking Tenten not to travel back for another week, as the sickness delaying Kakashi had spread to cross her route home.

Hiashi agreed, and Neji's heart soared. Neji served as Tenten's escort and helped her secure the rest of the wells and then navigate their town. One evening (after he had escorted Tenten to her assigned quarters, and then left before he could risk impropriety) he ran into his Uncle in the long halls. He froze as the other man reached out to pluck a small twig from his hair, and to look over him incredulously.

"I fell down a well," Neji blurted out.

"So, I see," Hiashi eyed him. "Do be careful, Nephew. By my calculations, that must be the third well this week."

He walked away, leaving his nephew's cheeks burning, even as he shook his head. "Just like your father," he muttered, hoping this young lass had done a better job repairing the wells than Neji's mother – another student of Master Sarutobi - had done, some twenty-six years ago.

* * *

Thanks to gracie-sketchy-cat for the prompt! xoxoxo!

With thanks,    
\- Giada


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